October is Cyber Security Awareness Month and an annual reminder for all Australians to stay secure online.
The theme for 2023 is 'Be cyber wise – don’t compromise'
This year, we encourage you to 'Be cyber wise - don't compromise'. There are 4 simple steps you can take to be cyber wise and significantly boost your cyber security:
- Update your devices regularly
- Turn on multi-factor authentication
- Back up your important files
- Use passphrases and password managers
Cybercrime reports are increasing, but by taking these simple steps everyone can play a part to make Australia the most secure place to connect online. Our latest Annual Threat Report found that during the 2021-22 financial year, one cybercrime was reported to us every 7 minutes, a 13% increase from the previous financial year. We have resources to guide you through the simple steps you can take to be cyber wise and avoid the compromise of your devices and accounts.
What you can do to improve your cyber security:
Update your devices:
Turn on automatic updates for your devices and software. This ensures you have the latest security in place.
- Check out our top tips to stay cyber secure
- Learn how to update your devices
- Test your knowledge by taking our short quiz: how cyber secure are you
Protect your accounts with multi-factor authentication:
Turn on multi-factor authentication to add another layer of protection to your accounts.
- Learn about protecting your accounts with multi-factor authentication
- Use the how-to-guide to protect your devices and accounts using multi-factor authentication
Back up your important files:
Safeguard your data from threats and avoid costly data recovery by having your important files backed up.
- Set up and perform regular backups
- Use our advice for backups to learn more about the files and devices to back up regularly
Use passphrases and password managers:
Passphrases are passwords that use 4 or more random words. Don’t compromise your accounts by re-using passwords or passphrases. Consider using a password manager to help generate or store secure and unique passphrases.
- Set secure passphrases
- Learn how to protect your passphrases using a password manager
Be a cyber wise business:
Access resources for business and government to level up the cyber security of your business.
The best way to protect your business is by implementing the Essential Eight mitigation strategies to protect against the most common cyber threats. You can also use the Exercise in a box tool to test your business’ cyber threat response and identify ways to improve your cyber security.
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