Australian Cyber Aware

23/06/2026

Australians sharing misinformation without checking facts | 7NEWS
New research by TikTok reveals one in five Australians believe online content before checking if it's true, while nearly 40 per cent share information without verifying it first. Cyber safety expert Susan McLean discusses the consequences of spreading misinformation, from physical and mental harm to the challenges posed by AI-generated content that appears increasingly realistic.

New research by TikTok reveals one in five Australians believe onli...

23/06/2026

Inside WA police's online child predator unit | 7NEWS
The WA Police Child Exploitation Squad operates an undercover unit where detectives pose as children in online chat rooms to identify and apprehend predators targeting minors.

21/06/2026

Schools warned over AI child abuse material threat | Sunrise

Australian schools are facing a significant threat as reports of AI-generated child abuse material have surged by 1,300%, with photos of children being harvested from school social media accounts and websites. Cyber security experts are calling for stricter photo consent policies at schools, moving away from simple yes/no forms to more detailed consent options that allow parents to specify exactly how their children's images can be used. The creation of sexually explicit AI deepfakes of anyone without consent is illegal, yet the apps enabling this technology remain legal and accessible through app stores.

Australian schools are facing a significant threat as reports of AI...

20/06/2026

From 1 July, customers will start seeing a clear difference between registered and unregistered SMS sender IDs.

If your SMS sender ID isn’t among the 17,000+ organisations already registered, your messages will be marked ‘Unverified’ on 1 July.

You should exercise caution about all ‘Unverified’ messages, as they may be unregistered or possible scams.

The new initiative will give people more confidence that SMS messages sent with a branded sender ID are legitimate.

👇 Follow the link in the comments to register today.

18/06/2026

: spotting fake texts and getting your money back.
Australians continue to lose billions of dollars to increasingly sophisticated scams every year, but major changes to text message verification aim to make it harder for scammers to impersonate banks, businesses and government agencies.

As the technology behind scams is gets smarter every year, protections are being put in place by the government. But can Australia's defences keep up?

18/06/2026

: The federal government has a huge task on its hands, protecting Australians from ever more sophisticated scams.

The federal government has a huge task on its hands, protecting Aus...

18/06/2026

HSBC has admitted to failing to protect customers from and agreed to a $35 million penalty in the Federal Court.

The bank admitted it exposed customers to a greater risk of unauthorised payments and that it didn't have adequate controls in place.

HSBC has admitted to failing to protect customers from scams and agreed to a $35 million penalty in the Federal Court.

17/06/2026

14/06/2026

Australians are being warned to rethink what they share online, with scammers now using AI to crack and steal personal information faster than ever before.

09/06/2026

Encrypted apps including Signal and Discord being used by criminals to lure teens with intellectual disabilities into crime.

Criminal syndicates are targeting vulnerable children with no criminal history, low IQ and intellectual disabilities to carry out their dirty work through encrypted apps.