During the week, news broke that national and international human resources company PageUp had experienced a potential data breach.

The University of Tasmania used the third-party for its recruitment process, and was forced to contact thousands of job applicants from the past six months, warning them to take security measures around their online presence.

The Department of Premier and Cabinet also had ties with PageUp, and has had to close down its jobs website used to advertise or accept job applications.

There’s no evidence that personal information has been compromised, but the risk was real enough to take such steps.

Those contacted were urged to change their passwords – especially if they use the same password across multiple platforms – in order to safeguard their personal details.

While many of us might automatically think, who would want to steal my information? I’ve got nothing to hide.

The hackers behind breaches of this nature are after far more than a good snoop.

They use the sort of information we willingly type in to create bank accounts, passports, and credit cards under their victims’ identities.

When we enter our personal information into an online database – whether it be applying for a job, signing up for an email list, or shopping online – we’re putting our trust into the unknown.

We try to look for the signs that everything is dinky-di, a reputable looking website and web address, but there are so many more pitfalls.

Information is taken after the fact, and there is little we can do about it.

As our processes are increasingly taken to online spaces, a breach such as this week’s is a wake up call.

How much information do you host online? Could someone with slick IT skills access all they need to, to hijack your life?

We were once taught to walk safely on the streets at night. Today we are taught to walk safely through the world wide web.

Experts recommend using different passwords across accounts, or employing the use of a third-party password program.

The best thing we can do is use our smarts, and adopt the Howard-era adage of “be alert, but not alarmed”.