Keeping your systems cybersecure

With the recent news of the Latitude Financial Services (Latitude) cyberattack, we have received enquiries from members who have been notified that their information has been compromised.

We understand Latitude shut down some of its customer-facing internal systems while continuing to respond to this attack, doing everything they could to contain the incident and prevent the theft of further customer data. Further updates will be provided to the ASX and Latitude’s websites.

It is a timely reminder however to remain alert and monitor for unusual activity.

It’s also another reminder to ensure your systems and processes are secure to safeguard you, your business and your clients.

Here are some simple steps you can take to enhance the security of your systems:

• Turn on automatic update on all your devices – Updates have security upgrades to fix weaknesses.
• Activate multi-factor authentication (MFA) – This improves your security by increasing the difficulty for cybercriminals to access your files and accounts.
• Backup your devices – A backup is a digital copy saved to an external storage or cloud. so you can restore your files if your device is lost, stolen or damaged.
• Set secure passphrases –
  • Long: The longer your passphrase, the better. Make it at least 14 characters in length.
  • Unpredictable: Use a random mix of unrelated words.
  • Unique: Do not reuse passphrases on multiple accounts.

MFAA cybersecurity resources

MFAA members have access to a range of resources on cybersecurity, available in the MFAA Learning Hub:

• The security of personal information – a series of FAQs on the legal requirements for holding personal information
• Lessons from the Optus data breach: protecting yourself, your business and your clients – a webinar recording featuring cybersecurity experts and information and tips on how brokers can be better prepared to avoid cyberattacks as business owners.
• Foundation Course in Fraud Prevention – this module provides deeper education and training around cybersecurity, fraud and scams.