Tasmanian Government warns residents to be wary online in wake of cyber terror attacks
The internet can be a risky place when it comes to private data, the Tasmanian government warns. Here’s how to protect yourself.
Tasmania
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Tasmanians are being urged to be more careful with their data online and remain alert to scams under a new state government campaign on Tuesday launched by Science and Technology Minister Madeleine Ogilvie.
The Liberal government, which earlier this year lost the data of up to 160,000 Tasmanians to Russian hackers, has launched a TV, newspaper and radio campaign urging people to be cautious online.
Documents relating to 16,000 Department of Education, Children and Young People clients were placed online following the breach of government service provider GoAnywhere in January.
The Defend Your Data campaign urges all Tasmanians to be more aware of online safety.
It urges internet users to be alert to things that don’t seem right; to shield themselves with secure passwords and updated apps and devices and to be ready to react in the event something goes wrong.
“Being cyber safe is everyone’s business, and we want all Tasmanians to be armed with the knowledge and tools to better protect themselves and their data online,” Ms Ogilvie said.
“We know cyber security is an issue that is concerning not just in Tasmania, but across the nation and the world. We must all do our best to defend against this ever present risk.
“That is why as a Government we have invested record funding. In the 2020-21 Budget, we increased funding for cyber security to $4.9 million over four years.”
The government budgeted $1.2m on cybersecurity in the 2021-22 budget, but fell short by $885,000 due to “delays”.
The unspent money was rolled over to the current financial year
Ms Ogilvie said there was no fresh information to share about the data hack.
The dedicated hotline providing information about the breach is still active on 1800 567 567 Monday to Friday.
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