New research from Google has shown that one-third of Australians still use the same passwords for multiple online accounts despite the high risks of being hacked.
The study, conducted by market research firm YouGov, surveyed 1,500 Australian adults about their online security experience.
While 36 percent of the respondents fell victim to password hacks, 34 percent reported using the same or similar passwords across their online accounts.
A quarter of the people surveyed did not change their passwords after hackers breached the databases of several major corporations in late 2022 and stole the personal information of millions of Australians.
In addition, over one in three respondents failed to take extra steps to enhance their account security.
Google infrastructure protection engineering director Darren Bilby said while an increasing number of Australians were interested in improving online security, many of them had no idea how to do it.
“This research shows that Australians are looking for ways to keep themselves safe and secure online,” he said.
Surprisingly, the report showed that younger generations were more clueless about how to avoid password hacks.
Gen Z (those born between the mid-1990s and mid-2010s) had the highest percentage of respondents lacking the necessary knowledge at 42 percent, followed by Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) at 41 percent, Gen X (born between mid-1960s and early 1980s) at 39 percent, and Baby Boomers at 37 percent.
To help Australian internet users strengthen their account security, Mr. Bilby recommended a number of measures beyond employing complex passwords for online accounts, such as using a password manager application, two-factor authentication, and safe and secured web browsers that can detect malicious sites.
The security expert added that online users could also sign up for account passkeys using biometrics or passcodes, update their software regularly, and avoid exposing sensitive information on suspicious websites.
Meanwhile, Google search data indicated that there was a growing trend for keywords related to online security.
CCP Is A Threat to Australia’s Cybersecurity
The research comes just days after the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) released a report identifying the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as a major backer of cyberattacks against Australian critical infrastructures and businesses.The ASD also designated Russia as an online security threat after its Federal Security Service used the “Snake” malware for long-term intelligence collection on high-priority targets worldwide.
The cybersecurity agency explained that Australia was likely to become a target of malicious state actors due to its involvement in the AUKUS partnership, which centres on the country’s cooperation with the United States and the United Kingdom over developing nuclear submarines and other advanced military capabilities.
The ASD’s report also revealed a worrying trend of increased cybersecurity incidents across Australia.
In the 2022-23 financial year, there was a 23 percent rise in cybersecurity incidents reported by Australian entities.
The total number of reports was around 94,000, equal to a cybercrime reported every six minutes.
In the business sector, enterprises saw a 14 percent increase in the cost of cybercrime.
Despite the sharp increase in cyberattacks, the real picture of cybercrimes in Australia is likely much bleaker as only a small proportion of affected individuals and institutions reported incidents to authorities.
