Forget Millennials: why those over 65 are the real cyber security pros

"Cyber response is shaped as much by mindset and habit as by age," Erich Kron, chief information security officer at KnowBe4 told The Senior.

A new research paper by the workforce cyber security company found people over 62 were twice as complacent as their Millennial children and Gen Z grandchildren about regularly changing their passwords.

Similarly, Baby Boomers were least likely to check if their data had been exposed online, with only 28 per cent saying they ran a regular scan. That's compared to about two thirds of both Gen Z and Millennials.

While younger people are more likely to proactively check their exposure, people over 62 are playing it safe by waiting for clear instructions, Mr Kron said.

"This emphasises why awareness efforts need to be tailored and practical rather than assuming everyone responds to risk in the same way, or that the one approach will work for everyone," he said.

Overall, when sensitive data is hacked by criminals or accidentally leaked by major companies, an estimated 5.2 million Australians will take no action unless we are directly notified.

Data leaks are a continuing threat, with an estimated 3.2 million Australians becoming victims of personal fraud in the last financial year, including card fraud, scams, identity theft or being impersonated online, according to new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Older people continue to be the group most vulnerable to financial scams.

In 2025, people over 65 lost a collective $88 million to scams, with more than 44,000 complaints registered by Scamwatch.

New data commissioned by the Department of Home Affairs actually suggests people over 65 are beginning to respond to the heightened threat, and could actually be more vigilant online than younger people.

Some 72 per cent of older people were creating unique passwords for every account they held, compared to just over half (54 per cent) of 18 to 24-year-olds. Four in five people over 65 also said they were regularly installing software updates, compared to just over half of 18 to 24-year-olds.

People over 65 were beginning to make the right choices when it came to keeping themselves safe online, according to Lieutenant General Michelle McGuinness, Australia's national cyber security coordinator.

"Their strong cyber security habits, like installing updates and avoiding clicking suspicious links, make them tougher targets for cybercriminals and less susceptible to some cybercrime," she said.

"In contrast, younger Australians know what they should be doing to keep themselves safe online - but are choosing not to, perhaps due to a false sense of security."