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4 cyber security tips for students

by Paul Kazlauskas

As a new school year begins, cyber security risks should be brought up and discussed with students. Phishing scams are more prevalent than ever before. Personal mobile device use in school, without proper device security, can potentially cause a hack or identity theft. It is helpful to know your Google security and privacy tools that can help keep your information private and secure. Students should be very careful when sharing data online. Unfortunately, many students don’t think about future repercussions when posting a racy picture or message. Below are 4 cyber security tips for students heading into the new school year…

Tip #1: Be mindful and cautious of how much personal information you put on the internet.
Be aware of when and where you share personal information. A very common practice of the retail industry is to ask customers to provide personal information in exchange for offers. A discount, free product, or free shipping might sound great for simply answering a few questions, but you don’t know what the company is doing with your data. Besides using the data to better target products for you (and increasing their sales), many companies sell your data to other companies. You never know where you data goes once you give it away. Parents of young children should have a frank discussion about privacy and sharing on the internet.

Tip #2: Everything on social media is permanent and has the possibility to become public.
There is nothing private about social media. Despite “privacy settings”, there is always the possibility that posts and pictures on social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter could be seen by anyone. Posts to Snapchat supposedly disappear after 10 seconds, but anyone with bad intentions can screen capture a post and make it live in eternity. Be careful about what you post. Deleted items aren’t necessarily gone forever.

Tip #3: Protect your passwords
Make sure others don’t have the chance to use your accounts maliciously. Don’t share passwords with anyone else. In addition, don’t choose passwords that are easily guessed. When considering what a password should be, refrain from using birthdates, names, and simple, easy-to-guess choices (Ex. “1234” or “password”). Always use cryptic passwords that can’t easily be guessed and contain upper- and lower-case letters, numbers, symbols, and punctuation. Consider using password manager software.

Tip #4: Phishing scams are everywhere and are becoming harder to detect.
Phishing is defined as “fraudulent email messages designed to trick users into downloading dangerous attachments, clicking malicious links or revealing sensitive financial or personal data”. The creators of phishing scams are getting better at it and their messages are harder to detect. Professional style graphics, benign subject lines, and amazing offers are some of the tactics they use to get you to put your guard down and trust a message the looks legitimate. Once a link is clicked, malware works to steal personal data and/or give your device a virus. The best advice is to carefully think before opening an email or clicking any of the links if something feels “off”. Opening an unsolicited message can have negative consequences for years.

Do you have any other cyber security tips for students to add to the list? Please add them in the comments section below.

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