Residents across Sunraysia and the Mallee are being warned about oversharing personal information online and to ensure they have strong passwords and privacy settings in place.
It comes as research reveals 2 in 3 Australians (64%) are making themselves easier targets for cybercriminals by posting personally identifying information on their social media profiles.
Experts warn information such as birthdays, suburbs, names of relatives, and even pets, could help cybercriminals gain access to their online accounts.
Privacy & Location Settings
• Nearly 6 in 10 (57%) Australians don’t review their privacy or location settings.
• Fewer than half (41%) regularly update their privacy and location settings.
• Only around half (46%) of Australians have limited who can see their location on social media.
• Only about 3 in 10 (29%) have hidden their profile from search engines.
Exposure of Personal Information
• Two in three Australians (64%) have personally identifying information visible on social media.
o About 1 in 3 publicly reveal their birthdate (32%).
o Nearly 3 in 10 expose family members’ names (29%).
o More than 1 in 4 list an email address (28%).
o Almost 9 in 10 young adults (18–24) have identifiable details online (86%).
o Nearly one in four Australians (23%) have their residential suburb visible
Unsafe Password Behaviours
• 3 in 10 (30%) use personal information in their passwords.
• More than 1 in 3 (38%) young adults (18–24) use personal information in passwords.
• Over half (55%) reuse the same password across multiple accounts.
• Nearly 6 in 10 (59%) use variations of the same password across their online
accounts.
Image: Technology Devices Electronics – Free photo on Pixabay
