About the Cyber Health Check
The personal cyber health check is conducted by GuardWare a leading Australian Cyber Security company supported by Department of Enterprise, Investment and Trade.
The quick health cyber health check is designed to help you protect yourself from some of the growing number of cyber threats that are active on-line.
Disclaimer
No personal data is stored in this survey. GuardWare Australia Pty Ltd and Department of Enterprise, Investment and Trade exclude all
liability for any loss, damage, cost, or expense suffered or incurred arising from the use of, or reliance upon,
the Cyber Security Assessment or any actions taken by you in addressing issues or implementing recommendations
identified as part of the Cyber Security Assessment, or otherwise provided separately by the Assessor.
You have completed the questionnaire
Click on 'submit' to see you cyber resilience rating
Your cyber resilience rating is Expert
See below for advice on improving your cyber resilience
We have no general advice.
You are currently cyber resilient - keep it up. If you have an specific cybersecurity concerns then please reach out to us.
Use a software password manager, as you'll create hundreds of passphrases over time and password managers can easily manage them and keep them secure.
- Use Chrome or Edge browser-based password managers.
- The Apple and Android Stores have many choices of Password Keepers.
The more complexity you add to your password, the harder it is to crack.
The more complexity you add, the longer it takes to crack your password.
Time is your ally here, as difficult passwords will be skipped by criminals looking for “easier pickings”.
A 10-digit password is broken instantly…it is “easy money” for a cyber criminal.
Helpful guidance - Use Passphrases
What is a passphrase?
A passphrase uses four or more random words as your password. For example, 'crystal onion clay pretzel' or 'red house, sky train'. The longer the passphrase, the harder it is for adversaries to crack.
A unique, strong passphrase can better protect your account compared to a simple password.
To create a strong passphrase you should consider making it:
- Long
- Unpredictable
- Unique
If a website or service requires a complex password including symbols, capital letters, or numbers, then you can include these in your passphrase.
A Google Survey done in 2021 revealed poor password “hygiene” is far too common in Asia-Pacific.
- 80% of respondents admitted using the same passwords across multiple sites.
- Almost half admitted to recycling passwords for up to 10 unique sites.
If a password is stolen on any of these sites, a user's accounts on the other sites become vulnerable as well, because cyber criminals know that people are lazy when it comes to recycling passwords.
Criminals will immediately use a cracked password/email combination (called a 'Credential Set') on social media sites to test for recycled passwords... and to gather more information about their potential victim... YOU!
A worrying 1 in 2 respondents also confessed to using guessable passwords with easily-crackable combinations, such as significant dates and names of partners or pets.
Out of date and vulnerable software, operating systems, applications and devices are involved in almost all security breaches. Devices and software that are out of date can enable cyber attackers to:
- Gain access to and steal sensitive information stored on your devices.
- Infect those devices with malicious software.
- Interfere with your business' productivity by preventing those devices running smoothly (or stopping them working completely).
Helpful guidance - How to keep your software updated
The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) provides detailed guidance and step-by-step
instructions to help you understand and implement recommended actions:
Check how you can update various devices from the following links:
Why is MFA important?
MFA is a security measure that requires two or more proofs of identity to grant you access to a device, system or application. The multiple layers of proof of identity make it much harder for criminals to attack your business.
MFA typically requires a combination of:
- something you know - pin, secret question
- something you possess - card, token
- something that's part of you - fingerprint, retina
Helpful guidance - How you can turn on MFA
Implement MFA wherever possible, and particularly for important internal and external accounts.
Check how you can turn on MFA from the following link:
Multi-Factor Authentication
Implement a regular, consistent process for backing up your most important files.
This will help to minimise the impact you experience ransomware, hardware failure or loss of your device.
The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) provides
detailed guidance and step-by-step instructions to help you backup files on different types of devices.
Also here are some instructions on how to back up your files on different operating systems:
