Cybercrime is an issue that affects all Australians and can have a huge financial and emotional cost to individuals, businesses and society.

The risk of cybercrime is rising every day, and is an issue for people of all ages, including children and young people.

Stay Smart Online Week, which runs from 7-13th of October this year, is a national awareness-raising week hosted by the Australian Cyber Security Centre and the Australian Government that encourages all Australians to take active steps to protect themselves online. The message this year is ‘Together, we can reverse the threat of cybercrime’, which encourages us to see the problem as something that affects everyone and therefore needs to be addressed by everyone.

This year’s campaign is particularly focused around the importance of taking control of your online identity and keeping your personal information secure. Some of the key cyber safety education messages include:

  • Review your privacy settings regularly;
  • Know how to spot phishing scams;
  • Create strong and unique passwords, and update them regularly; and
  • Turn on two-factor authentication.

We believe these are really important messages for school students, teachers, parents and workplaces, which is why we’re a Stay Smart Online partner.

During Stay Smart Online Week 2019, we will be raising awareness of cyber safety and cyber crime on our social media by sharing information with our networks.

Cyber safety education and messages about online security and privacy are woven through all of our cyber safety programs for primary school and high schools. Through our theatre productions for schools, students have the opportunity see what can happen if they don’t take precautions to protect themselves online. They also learn the positive outcomes of staying smart and safe online.

Click here for more information about Brainstorm’s 2020 cyber safety programs.

For more internet safety articles, check out the eSafety Commissioner’s blog.

For information about Stay Smart Online Week and how you can get involved, visit staysmartonline.gov.au.