It\u2019s back to school time and a busy time for everyone involved. As our children prepare to return to school with COVID-19 hygiene protocols, we must remember our cyber hygiene.<\/p>\n
School districts and colleges tend to use older hardware and software, and some share networks with other schools and colleges. This means they are more susceptible to cyberattacks. A study from Palo Alto networks shows a marked increase in cyberattacks against educational institutions.<\/p>\n
Our children face plenty of online cyberattacks, from cyberbullying, to phishing, to theft of devices. We can help decrease the odds that our children will fall victim to cyberattacks by taking the following steps:<\/p>\n
Every device your child uses should have security software installed. At a minimum, you should install anti-malware software to prevent viruses from infecting your child\u2019s devices. There are many companies like Trend Micro or Norton where you can purchase anti-malware software. I always recommend virtual private network (VPN) software. VPNs encrypt your child\u2019s connection. There are many good products out there for VPNs.<\/p>\n
If your school district or college provide laptops or\u00a0tablets, these devices will most likely have some anti-malware protection already\u00a0installed, but you should check to make sure.<\/p>\n
The best way to keep your child\u2019s devices updated with the current releases for the operating systems, e.g., iOS and applications, is to turn on automatic updates.\u00a0 When you turn on automatic updates, new releases are installed to fix vulnerabilities found in operating systems and applications. Cybercriminals are constantly adjusting their malware and spyware\u00a0attacks based on vulnerabilities. When you update your software, you take away an avenue hackers use to access your child\u2019s devices.<\/p>\n
You should also turn on automatic updates for your child\u2019s anti-malware program. Automatic updates will ensure your child\u2019s device has the current signatures to protect against malware.<\/p>\n
Adults are not the only ones who fall for phishing attacks. Our children do as well. Children normally do not have phishing simulations (like we do at Cooper) to train them how to recognize phishing attacks.<\/p>\n
Our children are more likely to fall for phishing scams that appear to\u00a0come from video\u00a0game providers\u00a0or retailers. They might quickly provide their own personal information or the personal information of their parents, including banking information\u2014how many children know where we keep our wallets or purses?<\/p>\n
We should teach our children how to recognize phishing attacks and remind them never to respond to any email asking for personal information.<\/p>\n
Cyberbullying, in which adults or children use the internet to\u00a0threaten others, is a real problem.<\/p>\n
It is important for\u00a0parents to talk with children about online bullying and explain to them\u00a0that hateful comments delivered online are never acceptable. We need to tell our\u00a0children to immediately come to us if they are victimized by cyberbullying.<\/p>\n
If you have evidence that your child has been the victim of\u00a0cyberbullying, block any messages from the bully and tell your child not to\u00a0communicate with the aggressor. Contact your local police department and follow their lead when collecting evidence of the bullying, such as taking\u00a0screenshots of hostile messages or taunting photos, or recording any harassing\u00a0videos.<\/p>\n
If the bully goes to the same school as your child, contact\u00a0the school or district office.<\/p>\n
As children spend more time online, whether during the school day\u00a0or when at home working on essays, reports, and other homework assignments, they\u00a0are more at risk of encountering online predators.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0National Center for Missing and Exploited Children said that it received 37,800\u00a0reports of possible online enticement targeted at children during 2020. That’s\u00a0a jump from the approximately \u00a019,100 reports the center received in 2019.<\/p>\n
Online enticement is when adults use the internet to engage\u00a0children in sexual conversations or try to convince them to send sexually\u00a0explicit images of themselves. Some online predators try to befriend children\u00a0over time with the goal of one day setting up an in-person meeting.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a good idea for parents to speak with their children about\u00a0the dangers of online predators and about how they operate. That includes\u00a0explaining to children that some adults pretend to be children online to\u00a0befriend them.<\/p>\n
They should also tell their children to only chat\u00a0online or game online with people they’ve already met in real life.\u00a0Parents may want to set limits on the amount of time their children can spend\u00a0online.<\/p>\n
As they\u2019re chatting with\u00a0friends or hustling to their lockers, your children might leave their laptop or\u00a0smartphone unattended. If they\u2019re heading to the local pizza parlor after\u00a0school with their friends, they might leave their smartphone by itself at a\u00a0booth as they head to the counter to place their order.<\/p>\n
These are all perfect\u00a0opportunities for thieves to steal these devices. If\u00a0a thief can log on\u2014and they often can figure out how to do this\u2014they can gain\u00a0access to your child\u2019s emails, files, and other personal information.<\/p>\n
Make sure to remind your\u00a0children to never leave their devices unattended, no matter how hectic their\u00a0school day gets.<\/p>\n
Your child\u2019s devices contain a lot of personal information, photos, emails, etc. so it is important to make sure you protect all your children\u2019s devices with lock screens. These screens\u00a0require users to enter a password, code, or pattern before they can unlock a phone and access its features.<\/p>\n
A lock screen won\u2019t keep every\u00a0thief out of your child\u2019s phone, but they do increase the odds that someone who\u00a0nabs your child\u2019s phone won\u2019t be able to access the messages, photos, and files\u00a0contained on it.<\/p>\n
With a few tweaks to Google searches, anyone can locate and access unsecured webcams, including webcams located in people\u2019s houses \u2014 maybe even your house. Make sure that your kids, and everyone else in the house, cover their webcams when they\u2019re not in use. If your webcam doesn\u2019t come with a privacy cover, use a sticky note or a piece of masking tape.<\/p>\n
Public Wi-Fi connections, such as those that restaurants and other businesses provide for customers\u2019 use, are notoriously insecure. If your children use a public Wi-Fi connection, please have them use a VPN. Again, this will encrypt their connection and prevent hackers from seeing the information they are sending.<\/p>\n
Our children are growing up in the digital age with lots of access to screens and social media. It may be difficult for us to keep up with the latest tech and platforms.<\/p>\n
We should be familiar with our children\u2019s devices, especially those we do not provide, such as a tablet from school. We should know how to configure the privacy settings on all their devices.\u00a0 Children know the workarounds, so we need to keep vigilant about the content they are able to access.<\/p>\n
We teach our children basic safety tips such as not talking to strangers and fastening their seat belts in the car. It\u2019s critical to also teach them basic online safety tips to protect their digital way of life \u2013 at home and in the classroom.<\/p>\n
Resource links:<\/strong><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.keepersecurity.com\/blog\/2020\/08\/31\/back-to-school-2020-8-cybersecurity-tips-for-parents\/<\/a><\/p>\n https:\/\/us.norton.com\/internetsecurity-kids-safety-back-to-school-online-safety.html<\/a><\/p>\n