Safer Internet Day: raising awareness and tips on staying safe.

Cybercriminals are always looking for ways to access your information for their own financial gain, don’t make it easy for them!  

Tuesday 6 February 2024 is Safer Internet Day. This year’s message is Connect. Reflect. Protect yourself when online. Consider the following tips to help protect yourself and your devices when online.

Connect safely by keeping apps and devices secure and reviewing your privacy settings regularly. 

• Keep your devices and applications up to date. We often ignore the prompts to install the latest updates for our device operating systems, however completing these updates can really help to protect your device from a cyber-attack.  Cyber criminals use weaknesses in systems and apps to hack into them, applying these regular updates fixes these known weaknesses. Keep cyber criminals out by setting up automatic updates on each of your devices.
• Only install and use secure and reputable apps. Using secure and reputable applications is another important way to connect safety when online. Using pirated or untrusted app stores can lead to your device being infected with malware or personal information being stolen. Always download mobile apps from official app stores (e.g. Google Play and App Store).
• Protect your devices by using reputable anti-virus software. The use of anti-virus software is an essential step to protect your devices, anti-virus software helps to prevent devices from being compromised by malware. As with your operating systems your antivirus software must also be kept up to date.

Reflect on how you use social media. The use of social media and online tools are a constant part of the way we interact with businesses, friends, and family. Reflect on how your actions online may affect others or your safety by:

• Thinking about what you are posting to your social media 
  Does it reveal personal information about yourself, your friends, or your family? Consider what you are posting about others online and if you have their consent to do so.
• Who can see the information you share on your social media accounts? 
  Consider keeping your accounts private and only accepting friend requests or connections from those you know and trust.
• What websites and services are you sharing your sensitive information with? 
  Do you need to disclose all the information they are requesting to sign up for a service? Consider if you need to share your birthday, phone number, address and only share what is necessary.

Protect your healthcare information online by securing your devices and accounts through: 

• Setting up your devices and applications to have passphrases. 
• Turning on multi-factor authentication to protect your accounts.
• Reviewing our guides on how to secure your health information when using My Health Record, Electronic Prescriptions, and Telehealth.