A focus on building world-class advanced digital infrastructure has attracted one of the county’s leading cyber-security companies to the Sunshine Coast.
Cybermerc has opened its first office outside Canberra, setting up a presence in the University of Sunshine Coast’s Innovation Centre.
Chief Executive Officer Matthew Nevin said the company had five locally-based employees, with plans to create 10 new jobs on the Sunshine Coast.
Mr Nevin said they chose for region for its long list of impressive in the cyber-security space, which he attributed to the broadband infrastructure build.
“Having world-class connectivity, a motivated business community and developing some amazing expertise in our industry means we absolutely had to have a local presence and be part of the excitement,” he said.
Sunshine Coast Mayor Rosanna Natoli said Cybermerc would boost the region’s reputation as a place for innovation, including in the cyber-security realm.
Mayor Natoli said as cybercrime reports continued to increase, Council was supporting the business community to leverage the region’s world-class data infrastructure and local expertise to tackle the growing threat of data breaches.
She said in 2023, Mooloolaba TAFE launched its Cyber Security Training Operations Centre which had attracted numerous cyber-security firms to the region.
“The Sunshine Coast also became home to The Critical Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Centre (CI-ISAC), a not-for profit entity providing organisations with a platform to share intelligence on getting ahead of, and defeating, cyber-attacks.”
Mayor Natoli said the region’s reputation as an emerging cyber-crime-fighting capital was further enhanced with the Sunshine Coast recently chosen to host the second AGM for the CI-ISAC.
“And now the region welcomes Cybermerc, a leader in providing cyber-security and threat intelligence solutions for small businesses, enterprise and government.”
She said Cybermerc successfully secured funding from the Federal Government for a project to look at cyber-security for defence and critical infrastructure small and medium-sized enterprises, partnering with local organisation Manufacturing Excellence Forum (MEF).
MEF Director Tim Kelly said the group, which included several defence industry suppliers in its membership base, was thrilled to be involved in the project.
“This collective research effort aims to uplift the region’s cyber-security capabilities and contribute to the nation’s economic and security landscape,” Mr Kelly said.
Learn more about the region’s advanced digital infrastructure by visiting the Invest Sunshine Coast website.
