Optus, Medibank and now Telstra, it seems like every week we hear of a new data breach happening on our doorstep. Almost all Australians receive scam calls, text messages and emails daily. Unfortunately, there are those that fall for the tricks as they have no reason not to trust them.
We could turn off our phones, stop using the internet or even go completely off the grid. But, these technological perks are integrated into our daily lives and it would be hard to “switch off”. We now have connected toasters, light bulbs, cars and even washing machines, we are truly close to living like the Jetsons.
Bring on the flying cars.
So, we can’t “switch off” and we can’t stop the scammers from using our public data to contact us. What can we do?
Here are three ways to keep yourself and your company data breach free.
- Don’t click that link.
Most of the data breaches that occur are not from someone hacking your system and picking out your network vulnerabilities. It is from people clicking a link which downloads malware or allows the hacker to see your data. You literally give permission for this person to go through your phone or computer. If a company has contacted you by SMS or Email and you’re not sure it’s them then follow these steps. Go directly to their website, log in as a user and check your notifications, or give them a call. But whatever you do DON’‘T click the link in the message. - Ask for more information.
A bank will never contact you and ask you for your personal account information without going through the identification process first. Australia is a wonderful nation filled with people from all around the world, we all have an accent. We want to trust the person on the other line, but we need more information. Ask for their Employee number and which department are they in. Call the bank or the company that is calling you direct and confirm this person works there. You will find that if it is a scam, they will start getting irritated or simply hang up. Remember they are calling you, not you them. - Use the right tools.
Large companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Google, Meta are not in the business of stealing your data, they already have it. These companies do everything they can to stop hackers and scammers from attacking you and them. So always check for the latest software and security updates and don’t wait too long to install them. The old saying that “big brother is always watching” is true in this case, but in a good way. The last things these companies want to see is their own sophisticated system being breached because you didn’t have the latest security update.
There are definitely more ways to keep yourself and your company data secure, but these are my favourite. I hope you found them useful. We have also created a Workforce Compliance Scorecard to determine your company’s risk and compliance profile. It’s free and takes 5 minutes to fill out.