During Cyber Smart Week, we asked Chris Jackson-Cox, The Warehouse Group’s Information Security Officer, how our customers can stay Cyber Smart.

“The Warehouse Group take Cyber Security seriously, we have a team of people and rigorous processes to keep our customers safe but I thought I would share a few tips."

What are your biggest concerns for threats that involve customers?

Our primary focus is making sure our customer information is secure. There have been so many data breaches already from large organisations, which means a lot of passwords and information are already out there. Unfortunately, people often keep using the same passwords across different services. Every breach that happens makes the problem worse, because there is more data about people and their lives out there.

What can customers do to ensure they are cyber safe?

Following best practise around password strength is one of the main things. Don’t use the same password twice across the different sites, and look at using a password vault or password management. Always use a strong password, something that is quite long. The easiest way to do that is to create something that is almost like a sentence, instead of random digits.

Use two-factor authentication if it is available. It is typically found on sites like Gmail and Facebook which hold a lot of personal data. 2FA sends a code to your phone when you login. I can’t stress this enough as even if your passwords are compromised, someone can’t get into your account because they need that second factor, like a code, to verify it is really you.

At the same time, if a customer sees something that seems suspicious or untoward, they should let us know straight away. For example, we would never contact anyone asking for details such as passwords or other forms of sensitive information.

How can we keep our devices safe?

Firstly, make sure to update apps and software as they have fixes for bugs, security and improvements. Be mindful around social media, and be a bit distrusting of links sent to you –unfortunately, you need to have an unhealthy suspicion about the person you are talking to – would they really send me that message?