Try as you might, you won’t get away from the scourge of cybercrime all that easily, but Australia’s Crime Reporting program is going to try and lessen the blow with a bit of help from Kaspersky Labs.
Internet security appears to be one of those things it is impossible to escape from. Every week, there are new infections, and as users of computers, of smartphones, and of the internet, we are permanently under threat.
Whether the security risks come as a result of someone trying to break into your computer and lock your files down with ransomware or call you up offering fake technical support to do something similar, the activities that make up the broad sheet of what cybercrime is could fill a room, and seem to on a regular basis.
That’s bad news for regular you and anyone else like you, who just wants to surf the web and use the internet without fear of having their money or life damaged or stolen, and it’s something that more people are trying to do something about.
In Australia, “Crime Stoppers” has been one of the central places Australians could go to report crimes, calling up the organisation to anonymously report on criminal activity, physical and happening around them. Unfortunately, this hasn’t been able to deal with cybercrime, but that appears to be changing.
This week, Kaspersky Lab’s local arm has teamed up with Crime Stoppers Australia to at least provide the right information to regular internet users, helping them deal with the education side of things to at least be able to point out where cybercrime is happening, and if it’s happening to them, giving them the chance to avoid it before it sinks its teeth in too deep.
“In this cyber safety partnership, we are maximising both brands in a joint social media campaign to educate the general public and facilitate safety messaging, said Anastasia Rae, General Manager of Kaspersky Lab in Australia and New Zealand.
“The public will benefit via these forums with safety videos, tips, and the latest information for everyone to know how to be safe when online,” she said.
For many in the security world, education is the very thing that will help people avoid being plucked out of the blue and taken advantage of. We’ve long argued for a similar approach, as the rate of technological and internet-related development is so fast that new security exploits and attack vectors could see their way out faster than most can project against them.
While security applications are a necessary evil in our lives — kind of like toilet paper, but for your computer, cleaning up the crap you don’t want to think about or touch — education about those security flaws is still absolutely vital.
Internet security applications can deal with the flaws you don’t see, acting like a force field for the things that can do serious harm to your computer, but education can mean lessening the chances that you’re picked up by security attacks on devices you may not have protected, like a phone or something else from the Internet of Things (IoT) that goes online.
“In the last two years, we’ve seen an increase in cybercrime and victim reporting from the general public,” said Peter Price, Director of Crime Stoppers.
“The rise of IoT has resulted in a proliferation of communication channels that give cybercriminals choices in how they harm people,” he said.
That means there are more ways to ensnare you, and more ways online netizens aren’t thinking about, raising the cause for education in security substantially.
“Cybercrime is the new frontier. Criminal activity is an absolute priority not only for us in Australia but worldwide. Hence the importance for us to get on the front foot and do as much prevention education as possible,” said Price.
“What better way than to collaborate with a business whose very nature in itself, is stopping crime,” he said. “We feel that Kaspersky Lab can have an impact in keeping Australians safe.”
For both of the organisations, these educational efforts start with an online campaign, with digital activities set to occur later on, as well as cyber security events in Australia.
