Thomas Rowe is on the frontline in the fight against cybercrime.
The 26-year-old Hazelbrook resident is part of the new generation of digital defenders at Western Sydney University's Centre for Cybersecurity Aid and Community Engagement (Western CACE).
A Bachelor of Cyber Security and Behaviour student, Mr Rowe made the Dean's Merit List in 2020 as a result of his hard work and passion for cyber security incident response and ethical hacking.
"I have always been very interested in online security, and both the technical and human aspects of cyber security and issues. Finding a course which involved delving deeper into this realm and looking at the psychological aspects of cybercrime was a great opportunity to expand my knowledge," said Mr Rowe.
"Cyber security is an always growing field and there is so much great knowledge to gain. I really enjoy educating others on the dangers of not being secure when it comes to all things digital and helping them reinforce their security in the cyber space."
Helping on the frontline at Western CACE Operations Centre, Mr Rowe has trained in cybersecurity incident response alongside government, industry and certification partners, joining a new team of digital defenders who are just as passionate about cyber security as he is.
"I advise everyone to spend the time creating and managing passwords for all online accounts held. Do not assume that everyone you communicate with online is friendly or trustworthy, and always back up your files.
"A friend of mine was very close to falling victim to a cybercrime. They were contacted via Messenger from a good friend who she trusted. It turns out this friend's account was hacked and being used to try and entrap other people on their friends list.
"The hacker was very persuasive and requested some personal details from my friend who began providing some details before becoming extremely suspicious and asked me for help," he said.
Threats becoming more frequent
Recent cyber threats becoming more frequent are online ordering and post scams.
Mr Rowe warns that individuals have been receiving messages from scammers posing as postal services to lure victims into sharing their personal information.
"People have received either an SMS or email stating that their 'order' is being held at a post office and asks the individual to click the provided link to update the necessary information about this order, even if the individual hasn't actually ordered anything online," he said.
"If the link is clicked, it will redirect to a log-in page, however, this is not an authentic page, and individuals usernames and passwords can be stolen and used for damaging purposes if entered into these fake log-in pages."
Western CACE provides free services helping small businesses respond to cybersecurity incidents like data breaches, ransomware, email compromise, phishing and payment fraud, and implement appropriate security controls.
More than 80 students from the university's Bachelor of Cybersecurity and Behaviour degree work at Western CACE alongside government, industry and certification partners.
Western Sydney University cybersecurity researcher, Professor Alana Maurushat, said: "Critically, Western CACE is providing our students with invaluable work integrated learning and real-world career experience, with opportunities to network with industry partners and put their knowledge into practice.
"Our vision is to see Western CACE expand globally, with free cybersecurity aid centres popping up in universities and training facilities around the world."
