In the past few months, cyber security has been a hot topic. There is no 100% solution to stopping hackers from accessing your data, but Student Housing Australia will look at simple ways to minimising the risk of it happening.
STRONG PASSWORDS.
Choosing a password that involves your birthday, for example, is easy to remember but could be the start of your data being brenched. Simple passwords can be easily hacked, where hackers will look at personal information to break into devices. Using 8-12 characters, lower and upper case letter/numbers and even unique sentences is the first step to stopping hackers from cyber attacks.
DO NOT CHOOSE THESE PASSWORDS.
The common passwords used by people are listed below. If you use any of these password regularly, we recommend you change them as soon as possible.
- 123456 (or any chronologically-ordered numbers)
- 987654321
- 123123
- QWERTY
- 111111
- password
MULTI-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION
Multi-Factor Authentication (Known as MFA) will ask users to identify themselves via multiple methods. The methods could include passwords, emails or using their mobile phone. MFA will decrease the chance of being cyber attacked, as hackers will need to break down multiple walls to get through to your personal data.
SOFTWARE UPDATES.
Security software is available to build the brick walls to stop hackers from obtaining your personal data. But make sure you regularly update your software, as developers will create new ways to safeguard from people taking your information.
CONTROLLING SOCIAL MEDIA INFORMATION
Social media is a great platform for you to share information with others, but it could be a danger to your privacy as well. If you like to share information from your life online, best to put it in private as cybercriminals will potentially be able to use that information to answer security questions on certain accounts.
PROTECT YOURSELF FROM IDENTITY FRAUD
Hackers are currently using different platforms such as SMS and emails, to trick Australians every day to give up personal information that can be used to commit identity fraud. This could also lead to financial losses as well, which we would not wish upon anyone. Please make sure you follow the steps provided to protect yourself.
SECURE DEVICES
There are multiple ways to secure your devices. Firewalls is the first set-up, which tries to prevent unknown viruses and hackers from getting access to your device. As mentioned above, use licensed software on your devices to protect them from cybercriminals. In addition, for your mobile phone, always keep up to date with the latest O.S updates.
PROTECT FINANCIAL DETAILS
Financial institutions such as banks, will never ask for personal information or request that you transfer money into different accounts. If this occurs, we recommend not to continue the interaction and seek information directly from your financial institution.
There is no perfect solution to stop cyber criminals from infiltrating your device and stealing information, but hopefully these steps can at least minimise the risk of it happening.
