Sabra Lane: You might scoff at this, but many people don’t update their online passwords. The Australian Institute of Criminology has published a report about cybercrime for 2024 and it’s found nearly half of us were caught out by an online scam or targeted with abuse, a malware attack or identity theft. And it says there are practical steps to avoid some of it, for example, by regularly changing passwords. Political reporter Nicole Hegarty compiled this report.
News report 1: Australia’s biggest airline targeted by a major cyber attack.
News report 2: Members of some of the country’s biggest superannuation funds are still struggling to access their accounts.
News report 3: 31,000 passwords belonging to Australian customers of the big four banks are being shared among cybercriminals.
Nicole Hegarty: Qantas, Australian Super and the big four banks among the major online breaches hitting Australians in the past year. The Australian Institute of Criminology’s newly released report revealing the scale. Almost 50% of Australian internet users experiencing cybercrime in the past year. Anthony Morgan is the Institute’s research manager.
Anthony Morgan: That includes online abuse and harassment, malware, ID crime and misuse and also fraud and scams online.
Nicole Hegarty: And the cyber attacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated as Andrew, not his real name, found out when trying to order dinner online.
‘Andrew’: I was trying to order Crust and I just clicked and used Google and I logged in successfully and it got all my details with my name. It knows what I have ordered last.
Nicole Hegarty: It looked like the actual site, but when he went to pay, the bill didn’t add up.
‘Andrew’: I received a message from ANZ saying that I got payment of 200 something US dollars.
Nicole Hegarty: He caught the scam before handing over any money, but his login information and card details were already in the hands of the scammers. Andrew speaks English as a second language, which the Institute’s Anthony Morgan says puts him in one of the higher risk categories for falling victim to cybercrime.
Anthony Morgan: We also see higher rates of victimisation amongst First Nations Australians, younger adults, LGB+ communities and also people with a disability.
Nicole Hegarty: There were some positive results like fewer people saying their information had been exposed and victims being more likely to recover money from identity crime. But Anthony Morgan worries people are becoming less likely to take simple steps to reduce harm.
Anthony Morgan: Many people still aren’t using simple but effective online safety strategies, using secure passwords, multi-factor authentication and installing security updates.
Nicole Hegarty: There’s also been no shift in the prevalence of high-risk behaviours like using free Wi-Fi to make financial transactions and sharing passwords. In a statement, Cyber Security Minister Tony Burke says it’s a reminder for everyone to install the latest software updates, use unique passwords and turn multi-factor authentication on whenever it’s available. A message researchers and those who’ve been the victim of cybercrime hope will reduce the number caught up next year.
Sabra Lane: Political reporter Nicole Hegarty there.
Click Here For The Original Source.
