October is Cyber Security Awareness Month, an initiative by the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC). This year’s overarching theme is ‘Have you been hacked?’
G&C Mutual Bank is committed to your security and privacy, and supports Cyber Security Awareness Month as a reminder for all Australian individuals and businesses to stay secure online and practice good cyber hygiene.
Cyber security is important for everyone and is especially pertinent following a number of high profile organisations in Australia recently being the target of cyberattacks which have resulted in customer data being compromised.
The first steps are turning on automatic software updates, regularly backing up your devices, switching on multi-factor authentication, using passphrases, securing mobile devices, and watching out for cyber scams.
Have you been hacked?
The ACSC has launched the ‘Have you been hacked?’ tool. This tool will help you assess if you’ve been hacked by guiding you through a range of scenarios that will advise you on how to best respond to the situation.
Scenarios include ransomware attacks, malware threats, email compromise and identify theft, as well as phishing and fake website scams.
The tool is simple to use and includes typical warning signs, scenario explanations and easy-to-follow steps on how to remediate the situation.
Is your email secure?
Email is a common target for cybercriminal activity. If someone gains access to your email account, they could steal your sensitive information, change passwords for your other accounts, or even send emails pretending to be you.
Cybercriminals will sometimes target emails being sent to and from businesses. This could result in fraudulent activity, with cybercriminals intercepting financial transactions such as invoices. Cybercriminals will use email to abuse trust in business processes to scam victims out of money or goods. This type of email attack is often referred to as business email compromise (BEC).
If you think your email account has already been compromised, the ACSC advises that you can take the following steps to review your security and remove the attacker:
How to check your email account security – Outlook
How to check your email account security – Gmail
What to do if someone has hacked your email account
How do you act now to stay secure?
The ACSC has a number of resources to help you act now to stay secure. The resources cover basic cyber security practices such as updating your devices, multi-factor authentication (MFA), performing regular backups, and setting secure passphrases.
It’s important to recognise and report scams. Get to know some of the common threats reported to the ACSC, so you will know what to do if it happens to you.
It’s time to take action
Act now to protect yourself online.
If you are interested in receiving cyber alerts, join the ACSC Partnership Program and help others stay secure too.
The ACSC has resources available to help you take action including a series of guides and top tips that you can use to protect yourself and be cyber secure. They even offer cyber advice in a variety of languages.
Take the quiz today and find out ’How cyber secure are you?’.
Need help?
If you believe someone has gained access to your personal information, even if the scam appears unrelated to your finances, you should contact your bank immediately. A timely response can be critical in giving you the best chance to stem any loss.
• If you have concerns about your G&C Mutual Bank account, contact us on 1300 364 400.
• You can find out how scams work, how to protect yourself, what to do if you’ve been scammed or report a scam to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) via the ACSC or the Scamwatch websites.
Further information about scams is available on our Security News page.
