IIA Security Portal

Cyber Security Tip for Wednesday – http://www.staysmartonline.gov.au/awareness_week

Day 3 of Cyber Security Awareness Week. So far you should have updated your Java Engine (www.java.com), updated your Adobe products (www.adobe.com), and checked your Microsoft products are up to date (www.update.microsoft.com). Apple users should be running the latest Mac Defender destroying version of OS X.

Tonight I’m going to broach an incredibly difficult subject, because virtually everyone I speak to believes that they are perfect in every way. Well I have to tell them, and you, that _I_ am not. I am just as vulnerable to the “Weakest Link” in computer security as anyone else, and that is my natural human curiosity that leads me to Click on links that I shouldn’t. To reveal information about me that I shouldn’t.

There is, as I write this, yet another Facebook malware attack running. This one, once again, tempts people to on a link about a Topical video. In this instance, it is referring to a video that purports to be of the IMF Boss in a compromising position. To put it simply, it makes it seem a friend of yours has sent you a message about this video, and encourages you to click the link.

It’s spreading like wildfire of course. No one is immune to curiosity. Members of Parliament, Senators, Businessmen, Family members, all sorts of people click on these links, and in turn, spread them to their neighbours. Having clicked on links such as these, you are sometimes presented with competitions (Which aim to steal your private information), Malware (Which aims to do goodness knows what to your PC), and sometimes, just to lull you into a false sense of security, a simple link to a YouTube Video.

Don’t ever fall for these scams. Don’t answer their questionnaires. There is already enough information on the Net about all of us. It was revealed just this morning, that someone has garnered 35 million Google Profiles; there were millions of Credit Cards and personal details of Sony Playstation users distributed last month; and a Public Television station lost control of all the personal records it held.

Keep your personal details to yourself. Don’t use the same Password on every network service you use. Be very sure of links that you click on.

The dangers on the Net are real. Despite what your “Net Savvy” friends may spout, there is danger out there. The Australian Protected Network is designed as a First Line of Defence to give you a buffer for this environment. It is designed to give you someone on your side. When you click on those IMF Boss links, they all go through to the same malware domain. That domain is known to the APN and when you hit it, you are educated. The APN warns you that you just dodged a bullet, and here’s how to be more aware for next time! Because there will be a next time. The APN can catch a Virus domain access and warn you that you should have adequate protection on your computer by installing a reputable Anti-Virus and Firewall. All these things are possible, when we have

The Australian Protected Network. “A Framework that allows every Internet Connected device to have a basic level of protection”.

http://www.australianprotectednetwork.com.au/