ACSC Head, Ms Abigail Bradshaw CSC, said the dramatic increase in people working from home – many of them for the first time – and the increasing use of online systems to manage social distancing creates opportunities for cybercriminals.
“The social distancing measures that help protect the community against COVID-19 can also make them more vulnerable to malicious cybercriminals,” said Ms Bradshaw.
“The unauthorised compromise of information can have a devastating impact on a person’s emotional, financial and working life.”
“The ACSC has published new, easy-to-follow advice on how people working from home can better protect themselves from cyber-attacks and disruptions.”
The ACSC’s new guidance outlines nine important but simple cyber security practices for people who are working from home to limit risks:
- beware of scams
- use strong unique passphrases
- implement multi-factor authentication
- update your software and operating systems
- use a virtual private network (VPN)
- use trusted Wi-Fi
- secure your devices when not in use
- avoid portable storage devices
- use trusted sources of information.
The advice is part of the ACSC’s campaign to raise awareness of cyber threats and how to mitigate them during the COVID-19 pandemic.
For more information see Advisory: COVID-19: Cyber security tips when working from home or the ACSC's COVID-19 cyber security advice.
