The world has made significant advancements in science and technology; the advantages this has brought to teaching and learning are noteworthy.
Students in particular benefit from this. They can complete their homework from literally anywhere, view videos online to learn, receive vital information and communicate the same at light speed, and so much more.
However, students, due to these advantages, can overlook obvious threats, one of the biggest being the threat to Cyber Security.
Therefore, teachers must help children stay safe. So, how can you do that? Firstly, by being well informed yourself.
Take our cyber security online test, to build your knowledge on this subject.
Additionally, here are three basic tips on cyber security that you can teach students.
- Phishing Scams
Phishing is defined as the act of gaining sensitive information by fraudulent means. This information could be your passwords, usernames, credit or debit card details, bank details, etc.
The idea is to get you to voluntarily give away your personal information. Hackers do this by pretending to be well-known companies, banks, social networking sights, online stores, etc.
They pose a set of questions, which at first glance seem genuine, to make you think that your information has been compromised.
DO NOT FALL FOR THEM.
Notice if these questions sound familiar:
● “We’ve noticed some suspicious activity in your account, could you share your personal information so we can protect your account?”
● “There seems to be a problem with your payment information, could you share your personal information so we can edit it and fix the issue?”
● “Could you please confirm your personal information?”
Associated questions are used by hackers to draw out personal information. Taking up cyber security quizzes will surely help you be prepared and also teach children the dangers of this threat.
- Strong Passwords Matter
Edward Snowden, a controversial figure but undeniably an expert in Cyber-Security, had this to say about passwords in an interview with John Oliver, host of the show Last Week Tonight.
When asked about bad passwords he said, “Bad passwords are one of the easiest ways to compromise a system. Having an 8-character password can take a computer less than a second to pass through.”
That is how easily accessible our systems are to hackers. Notice Snowden never mentioned the complexity of the password. Regardless of how unique it is, an 8-character password is easy to break.
What was his suggestion? He went on to add, “Don’t have ‘passwords’ have ‘passphrases’ – one that is too long to brute force but also one that isn’t in the dictionary.”
His suggestion was to have a phrase you could remember and that cannot be found easily. This prevents hackers from identifying patterns in your password. Take it from an expert, strong passwords matter.
- Always Backup Your Data
Not all hackers need to be after your money. Some may be after your data, and some may want to erase all of it. Children need to be made aware of this threat.
Help them understand the importance of data and the dangers of losing it. They can have their data stored in various devices, the cloud or even in a physical location.
If they choose to save their data in multiple devices or the cloud, help them understand the importance of having a strong password.
What Next?
The question of facing an attack on Cyber Security is not an “if” but a “when.” The best thing to do then is always be prepared and take proper measures of safety.
Leave a Reply