Safer Internet Day 2021 — how you can #StartTheChat

This blog was originally published via Medium here.

This year, Orange Digital has joined forces with our friends at AusCERT to raise further awareness about ‘Safer Internet Day 2021’ on Tuesday, February 9th. This year marks the 18th anniversary of this very important day and is all about bringing the global community together with the purpose of making online experiences better for everyone.

Over the last 12+ months, we can all agree that the internet has been critical in connecting people for work, learning, socialising, and more. If you told us at the beginning of 2020 that remote work and education would be a ‘new kind of normal’, chances are you wouldn’t have believed it.

A recent study from The Economic Times revealed that most HR managers (42%) said their organisations will continue to operate with remote work, with almost 40% of respondents saying they will follow a hybrid work structure alternating between WFH and in-office days. Furthermore, this study identified that these organisations will continue to work from home in 2021 and operate under a hybrid model for the next 5 years.

Facebook further supports these trends, with recent data predicting over half of the Australian workforce will be fully remote in the next 10 years. With these stats in mind, it’s clear that we’re moving towards a large majority of jobs becoming location-agnostic.

This leads me to the 2021 Safer Internet Day theme: “Together for a better Internet”…

At a time where online communication and connection is at an all-time high, we each have a part to play in the chat about online safety at home, school, work, and within the community.

AusCERT, Australia’s pioneer Cyber Security Response Team, is on the front foot in the realm of online safety and recently shared a very handy resource from their colleagues at UQ ITS to raise awareness for Safer Internet Day and share advice on how to protect your data and your family. You can read the full article here. 

“As we know, cyber-criminals are adept at exploiting people via the Internet, so it’s important to know what to look out for…”

At last year’s AusCERT2020 conference, Australian eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman-Grant also spoke on the topic of “Online Safety during & after Covid-19”. As we gear ourselves for the year ahead, this topic of conversation remains extremely pertinent.

When we approached AusCERT to discuss Safer Internet Day, Mike Holm; AusCERT Senior Manager, shared that AusCERT is actively encouraging members and the greater public to #StartTheChat. As Australia’s pioneer Cyber Security Response Team, AusCERT is focused on helping its members prevent, detect, respond and mitigate cyber-based attacks, while also engaging members by empowering their people, capabilities, and capacities.

To #StartTheChat within your workplace, eSafety provides a range of online safety information and resources to share with your colleagues. Check it out here.

There are also plenty of free resources and activities to help you #StartTheChat with students, family, friends, and the community during 2021.