IT Tips November

Cyber Security

After the recent Medibank cyber security incident involving the potential release of customer private data and information the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) has released general cyber security advice. All Australians need to strengthen their cyber defenses to help protect themselves and their businesses from online threats.

Some simple steps to increase cyber security:

• Ensure your devices are up to date and turn on automatic updates where possible to guarantee you have the latest security protection.
• Turn on Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) to increase the security of your accounts.
• Ensure daily backups are set up to copy and store essential information.
• Report scams and cybercrimes to the ACSC to protect your information and accounts from compromise.
• Stay up to date on cybercrime security threats with the ACSC Alert Service

Passwords

What is Malware?

These days passwords are an unavoidable part of everyday life. Many people often use weak passwords and the same or similar passwords across multiple accounts. Coming up with secure passwords and remembering them can be a bit of a pain but it is necessary to keep your accounts protected.

Did you know that 59% of people use their name or birthdate in their passwords? 43% have shared their password with someone and only 45% of people would consider changing their password after a breach!

SNC strongly recommends that everyone uses a minimum 12-character password with upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Using a passphrase instead of a password is also another good option. A passphrase is a string of words that is longer than a traditional password, easy to remember and difficult to crack.

37% or people deal with more than 20 passwords – that’s a lot to remember. At SNC we use LastPass to manage our passwords, there’s no way we would be able to keep track of them all.

LastPass stores usernames, passwords, and notes to a secure digital vault. LastPass can also be set up as a browser extension allowing you to automatically fill in your details when visiting websites.