Common Security Threats

Common security threats get treated as an IT topic, and a meaningful share of incidents never involve a network at all.

Someone holds a secure door open for a person carrying boxes. A laptop is taken from a car. A screen is left unlocked in an open-plan office or a cafe. Printed material with personal information sits on the printer overnight, or goes in the general bin.

These matter for the same reason the digital ones do. Where personal information is involved, the obligations that follow do not depend on how it was lost.

Controls here are unglamorous and cheap. Clear desk expectations, automatic screen locking, secure disposal of paper, and explicit permission to challenge an unfamiliar person politely at a door.

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner publishes breach guidance. This is general information rather than legal advice, and obligations vary by state and territory.

See Sentrient’s privacy training course and cyber security policy template.