We have always been committed at Nominet to contributing to make the UK internet as safe, secure and as trusted as possible, while also playing our part in the fight against cyber crime.
I am pleased therefore to support the Government’s new campaign Cyber Streetwise which aims to educate people on how to protect themselves while shopping or banking online, by offering practical guidance on avoiding common risks.
As a member of the Government’s Cyber Crime Reduction Partnership, I recognise the importance of raising awareness of the risks and enabling businesses and users to better protect themselves.
As the Cyber Streetwise campaign highlights, there is much that we can all do to adopt the same precautions online as we would naturally take in the real world. Indeed, Government research suggests that while 94% of us think it’s our responsibility to ensure we have safe internet experience, only 44% of us always install internet security software on our new gadgets and only 37% download the updates or patches when prompted.
The campaign is focused on five key actions that we can all take to keep ourselves and others safe from cyber crime by:
1. using strong, memorable passwords
2. installing anti-virus software on new devices
3. checking privacy settings on social media
4. checking online retail sites are secure when shopping online
5. downloading software and application patches when prompted
With more than 11 million internet-enabled devices received as Christmas gifts, ensuring that users can keep themselves safe online is crucial in building a healthy UK digital economy that we can all benefit from. So, if you are still using ‘password’, ‘123456’ or even ‘welcome’ as your password, that would be a good place to start becoming more cyber streetwise!