Take a second to stay secure this Cyber Security Action Month

October is Cyber Security Action Month. We are encouraging all Australians to take practical steps to strengthen their cyber security. As cyber threats continue to increase in scale, speed and sophistication, now is the time to take simple cyber security actions to help keep you secure online.

The theme for Cyber Security Action Month in 2026 is Take a second. Stay secure. 

This year, we encourage individuals and organisations to turn awareness into action by applying simple, effective measures to increase your cyber resilience. 

For individuals

Small actions can provide important protection online. We encourage all Australians to:

1. apply updates to devices, systems and applications when they become available
2. perform regular backups
3. turn on multi-factor authentication for online accounts
4. learn to recognise scams and report them
5. set long, unique passwords
6. know the threats by signing up for our alerts and advisories.
7. check and manage privacy settings
8. think before you share on social media.

Strong cyber security is everyone's responsibility. By taking these simple steps today, you can better protect yourself and your family online. This Cyber Security Action Month, take a second to stay secure and help build a safer Australia online.

For practical guidance on securing your accounts and devices, and staying secure online, explore the content on our website.

For Australian businesses, critical infrastructure entities and Government

Taking action on cyber security can help protect the systems and services people rely on every day. We recommend the following critical actions to improve organisational cyber security resilience:

1. replace or mitigate risks with legacy technologies
2. implement best practice event logging
3. choose secure by design products and services
4. prepare for post-quantum cryptography
5. prepare for AI-enabled cyber threats

Critical infrastructure entities should be prepared to isolate systems and networks for up to 3 months.

Cyber security is everyone's responsibility. By taking practical steps today, individuals and organisations can help protect themselves, their communities and the essential services we rely on. 

Awareness alone is not enough, it is time to turn awareness into year‑round collective action. Discover how our Cyber Action Year initiative is encouraging year-round collective action, to build lasting cyber resilience with government, industry and critical infrastructure.