Australia is a world leader on an unwanted list – countries most at risk of cybercrime – and the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) says there’s a key factor in your battle to stay safe.
If you’ve noticed an uptick in the number of scam attempts you’re receiving, you’re not imagining it.
According to research from network security provider Proxyrack, Australia is the fourth most at-risk country to be targeted by cybercriminals.
Proxyrack calculated rates of cyberattacks worldwide and found that for Australia’s population of 26.2 million, there were 2204 attacks during the reference period, which equates to about eight per 100,000.
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The top three countries most likely to experience cybercrime were the UK (450 victims per 100,000), the US (138 per 100,000) and Canada (15 per 100,000).
“The UK had the second-highest number of victims of all the countries on our list and more than three times as many victims per 100,000 people than any other country,” Proxyrack notes in the report.
“Everyone knows the importance of staying safe online. Among all the great things that the internet has brought us, it has also presented opportunities for hackers and scammers to make an illegitimate living.”
Proxyrack’s findings appear to be backed by government data.
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The ACSC – a division of the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) – found in its annual Cyber Threat Report that 2022 was a particularly active year for cybercrime in Australia.
The report found a 13 per cent increase in cybercrime reports, with more than 25,000 calls to the Cyber Security Hotline in 2022. That equates to about 69 reports per day or one report every seven minutes.
Scams related to online shopping and online banking were the most commonly reported, accounting for 54 per cent of all reports.
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How can you protect yourself?
The ACSC says the most important thing individuals can do is to make sure the software running on their devices is up to date. Cybercriminals are constantly scanning for older, less secure, software, so staying on top of updates is imperative.
If your device is so old it has stopped receiving software updates, then it’s probably time to upgrade your device. The potential financial security risks alone should outweigh any gripes about paying for a new smartphone, laptop or tablet.
You should also enable multi-factor identification (MFA) on your devices, as well as on popular social media and messaging apps.
The ACSC also recommends setting secure passwords for your accounts that are long, use a random mix of unrelated characters and are unique to the individual account – no more using the same password for everything!
Have you noticed more scam attempts recently? Are all your devices running the latest software? Let us know in the comments section below.