The kids are heading back to school and hopefully getting into the learning spirit. This is a good opportunity to teach your children more about cybersecurity, and warn them of a few potential pitfalls.
Follow the Leader
At the start of the school year while parents are breathing a sigh of relief, kids are making a mad scramble to fit the social norm. This can come with a flurry of new apps, social networks, and website signups. With the social trend currently being, share your whole life with the world, parents should be even more diligent with what their kids are signing up for and sharing. While we hope most of it is harmless, these steps and reminders could make a big difference.
1. Review your child's privacy settings on their social networks. The whole world does not need to see their rendition of the latest dance moves.
2. Don’t post anything that might contain information that could lead someone to know your home address.
a. Mail
b. Images outside your home that might have landmarks
c. Videos or images of your children walking the neighborhood
3. Remind children not to post information on specific schedules with locations.
Your Password or Theirs
While a lot of working professionals have password management systems, my guess is your child does not. Chances are all of those new apps and social networks are linked to your email account. Review the password security setting with your children and come up with a few unique but strong passwords for your child to utilize.
SMiShing Anyone
SmiShing is the latest security attack hitting consumers. This is when a scammer tricks someone into downloading a virus or malware onto their mobile device. Often times a text or social post with a message along the lines of, cancel your order or you will be charged, comes through with a link. While you might suspect something fishy, your child is going to panic and assume they did something they shouldn’t and try to cancel. After that it’s all downhill. All their accounts are linked to yours and well, you get the picture.
The Vanity Search
We utilize Google and the search options in our social networks on a daily basis. While you might have googled yourself a few times, have you searched for your child? This might seem a little off-putting, but cyberbullying is a serious concern. A few simple searches on social networks, both personal and school-issued can catch problems before they get out of hand.
School Networks
Most schools have their own networks were children can save homework, get the latest school schedules and send their teacher that last minute project. Make sure they do not save personal documents or identifiable information to the school's drive, plus their teacher really doesn’t need to see the 237 selfies they took before they Snapchatted the perfect one.
In the end, try and turn these teachable moments into a fun game and encourage your children to talk to you about suspicious online activities. Children are never too young to start learning about cybersecurity.
For more information on cybersecurity and the latest security trends, contact us at call +1 (866) 216-4366 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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