Cyber Safety: Steps to Secure your Devices

December 14, 2022

As cybercrime continues to rise each year in Australia, taking additional, proactive steps to secure your devices against cybercriminals is no longer an option, but a necessity.

In addition to using emails, text messages and phone calls to trick unsuspecting individuals into opening attachments, visiting a website, or revealing login credentials; cybercriminals are now actively exploiting weaknesses in systems and applications to access and steal personal information. In fact, cybercriminals have become so highly skilled, they continue to successfully infiltrate the systems of major organisations such as Optus and Medibank, stealing highly confidential, personal data and selling it online.

You might be asking yourself, “If Optus and Medibank can get hacked, what chance do I stand?” The good news is you don’t need the resources of an entire IT department to protect yourself against cybercriminals. In fact, you can successfully secure your devices by following these practical, simple steps:

1. Update your devices with the latest software or operating system

Devices are often hacked by cybercriminals using known weaknesses in operating systems or applications. This is easy to avoid by ensuring your device software and applications are updated on a regular basis. Not only do updates provide new features and improvements, but they almost always provide upgrades that fix security flaws. It is important to update devices as soon as a new software update becomes available. This can be done automatically by simply turning on automatic updates in your device settings.

To turn on automatic updates, look at the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) step-by-step guides for:

2. Activate Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

2FA improves your device security by acting as a ‘second key’ and proving you are the person requesting access. An example of a ‘second key’ is an SMS, prompting a unique password each time to you try to login to an online account.
This second key, or second-factor, makes it very difficult for cybercriminals to log into your account without your unique 2FA code. However, for 2FA to remain secure and unique to you, it must never be shared and treated like an important ID document. To reduce the likelihood of unauthorised access to your device or accounts, activate 2FA, starting with your most important accounts such as computer login and emails.

To activate 2FA, follow these guides for popular platforms:

3. Create Secure Login Credentials

In addition to two-factor authentication, a secure password can make a big different when protecting your data from cybercriminals. Cybersecurity experts recommend creating passphrases by using a combination of four or more random words. You can create a secure password by ensuring it contains these features:

· Combination of upper and lowercase characters.

· Combination of numbers and symbols.

· Is at least 14 characters in length.

· Is unpredictable and unique to each of your accounts.

For more tips on how to build strong Login Credentials, see the ACSC.

4. Setup Device Backups

In the worst-case scenario where your device has been hacked, and your data is lost, it can help to have a backup in place. A backup is a saved copy of the data stored on your device such as: files, images, documents and so on. It is usually backed-up on an online cloud, but it can also be saved to an external hard drive or device. Having a reliable backup in place means that critical files can be restored if your device is ever lost, stolen, or damaged.

To set up secure, automatic backups, read the ACSC guides for :

Apple Mac external storage backup and cloud backup.
Apple iPhone cloud backup.
Microsoft Windows 10 external storage backup and cloud backup.

For more information about cyber safety and fraud prevention, you can visit:

Multi Factor Authentication - The Second Lock That Could Protect Your Organisation

July 6, 2026

Cyber criminals are constantly looking for the easiest way into your systems, and unfortunately, passwords alone are no longer enough. Even strong passwords can be compromised through phishing emails, data breaches, malware or social engineering attacks. Once a criminal has your password, gaining access to email, cloud platforms, financial systems and sensitive information can be alarmingly straightforward. This is where Multi Factor Authentication (MFA) becomes one of the most effective cyber security controls available. Think of it as a second lock on your front door: a stolen password may open the first, but MFA prevents criminals from walking straight in.

Announcement: CDF Deputy Chair Appointment

July 1, 2026

Announcement: 1 July 2026

Fifty Years On: St Agatha's Catholic Primary School Continues to Grow

June 22, 2026

Shining bright in crisp autumn sun, the colourful playground at St Agatha’s Catholic Primary School in Cranbourne stands quietly in peaceful silence until a sudden burst of upbeat music signals the beginning of recess and students stream out into the fresh air and sunshine with squeals of laughter and delight. Walking into this heartening scene, Principal Michelle Bruitzman is quick to greet students who surge around her with a smile. Celebrating its fiftieth year in 2026, St Agatha’s has been a keystone in the lives of thousands of families since it was established in 1976. “ We have students whose parents and grandparents went here as well as children of families newly arrived from all over the world ,” says Michelle.

CDPF Limited, a company established by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, has indemnified the Catholic Development Fund ABN 15 274 943 760 (the Fund) against any liability arising out of a claim by investors in the Fund. In practice, this means your investment is backed by the assets of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne. The Fund is required by law to make the following disclosure. Investment in the Fund is only intended to attract investors whose primary purpose for making their investment is to support the charitable purposes of the Fund. Investors’ funds will be used to generate a return to the Fund that will be applied to further the charitable works of the Archdiocese of Melbourne and the Dioceses of Sale and Bunbury. The Fund is not prudentially supervised by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority nor has it been examined or approved by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). An investor in the Fund will not receive the benefit of the financial claims scheme or the depositor protection provisions in the Banking Act 1959 (Cth). The investments that the Fund offers are not subject to the usual protections for investors under the Corporations Act (Cth) or regulation by ASIC. Investors may be unable to get some or all of their money back when the investor expects or at all and investments in the Fund are not comparable to investments with banks, finance companies or fund managers. The Fund’s identification statement may be viewed here or by contacting the Fund. The Fund does not hold an Australian Financial Services Licence.