Aussies taking a 'she'll be right' attitude to personal Internet security?

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Tuesday, 31 May 2011 14:29

Your IT - Home IT

We're smack bang in the middle of National Cyber Security Awareness Week, with the worrying news that Australians are far more concerned about the nation's Internet security and are far less worried about their own.

With the National Cyber Security Awareness Week upon us, it should come as no surprise to see plenty of articles, warnings and discussion over just how aware of Internet security we both are already, and need to be.

PayPal, for example, has put out a report urging Australians to be more careful about the personal details they share with websites.

Now comes the National Security Program Director of Unisys Australia, Mr John Kendall, on the back of Unisys' bi-annual Security Index which 'provides insights into consumers' sense of security'.

Mr Kendall laid it all out on the line when he said that: 'It appears that the frequency and impact of highly publicised cyber-attacks on banks and popular websites are causing Australians to worry about the vulnerability of the Internet itself.

'However, Australians are fairly relaxed when it comes to threats posed by viruses and unsolicited emails on their own PCs, with the Index showing a five per cent decline in concern about Internet security in relation to these risks.'

Given news reports about 'big Internet breaches and the role it can play in national security', Unisys' report says that 45% of Aussies 'consider the Internet to be extremely vulnerable to malicious or terrorist attack, second only to airports and aircraft.'

Unsurprisingly, given the ever-increasing importance the Internet plays in all our lives, Unisys' report also found that '56% of Australians are more concerned about cyber-attacks on important national computer networks than they were 10 years ago.'

Mr Kendall added that: 'While the security threats to the Internet as a whole are of concern, the results of the research indicate that many Australians are becoming complacent about their own online security.

'Further research Unisys conducted in late 2010 about security of mobile devices found nearly six out of ten (58 per cent) of Australians never secure their mobiles, PDAs or smartphones by using or regularly changing a password or PIN. And only 18 per cent said they always secured their mobile device.

'This highlights the continued need for education and public awareness campaigns, such as National Cyber Security Awareness Week, on the important role businesses and individuals play day-today in securing the Internet and the information shared across it.'

What about the Australians' attitudes to online banking and shopping? Please read on to page two!