ID Support NSW is encouraging people across the state to use stronger passwords on important information that would take identity thieves years to break. 

The NSW Government’s nation-leading unit for support in the face of identity crime explains that the use of stronger passwords will help in keeping one’s personal information secure from hacking. 

“While we are a modern and customer-centric government committed to making life easier for the people of NSW, we are also supportive of making life harder for hackers,” NSW Chief Information and Digital Officer Greg Wells. 

“A hacker can break a password in just two seconds if it is seven characters long and doesn’t use any numbers or special characters, while a password which is 18 characters long and uses a mix of numbers, symbols, upper and lower-case letters would take 438 trillion years to break. 

By simply making a password longer and adding more numbers and special characters, Chief Officer Wells states that a person can greatly improve the protection of their most important information such as emails, bank accounts and social media accounts. 

NSW citizens are also advised to update their passwords every few months, never share the password and refrain from sharing personal information which could be used to answer security questions. 

“Sharing stories about your first car ‘Betty the Barina’ for social media quizzes may seem innocent enough but these questions are designed to capture common answers to security questions,” Chief Officer Wells said. 

“Passwords are the first line of defence against cyber criminals but unfortunately, they are too often overlooked. 

Security breaches and cybercrimes are becoming increasingly more sophisticated, costing Australians millions in damages and hours spent remediating their identity. 

While the ID Support NSW will aid victims of identity crime when they are seeking help to recover government documents such as driver’s licences and birth certificates, effortless changes like making passwords more complex may protect citizens from ever needing the service. 

Source: Department of Customer Service Media Release. Content has been edited for style and length.

Eliza Sayon

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Eliza is a content producer and editor at Public Spectrum. She is an experienced writer on topics related to the government and to the public, as well as stories that uplift and improve the community.

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