The sheer volume of devices that educational institutions must handle and the wide variety of operating systems they must support make them easy targets for cybercriminals. Administrations should care about cyber security, but so should the general student population. Knowing how to protect oneself and being aware of potential threats is also important for students to learn in the digital world.
The start of a new year signals a clean slate but also emphasizes the importance of cyber safety measures. Cybersecurity experts have advocated that all educational institutions create their own cybersecurity teams and adopt certain best practices to protect student data.
Obviously, information security is of paramount importance in the academic community. Continue reading to learn more about the cybersecurity statistics shared by a top persuasive speech writer from a professional academic writing service for college students.
Statistics
Since more and more devices are being connected to the internet, cyberattacks have also increased annually. The methods used by cybercriminals to obtain sensitive data have also become more complex. According to Cybersecurity Ventures, the United States could lose $10.5 trillion annually to cybercrime by 2025. The number of suspected cybercrimes in 2019 increased from 300,000 to 791,790 in 2020, adding to losses reaching $4.1 billion. All this is according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
Victims of cyber-attacks may face financial, legal, and mental repercussions. Individual identities can be compromised, and online reputations can take a beating thanks to the activities of cybercriminals. Atlas VPN showed that millennials and Gen Z constituted the most likely age range to fall for phishing emails in 2021. Interestingly, college students consider themselves to be tech-savvy digital natives.
College freshmen and seniors alike can benefit from a review of basic online security practices after going through the paper writing services reviews and using the Essay Pro promo code to save money on delegating assignments. They also need a heightened understanding of the threats they face.
What to Do to Avoid Being Hacked
1) Delete any malware from your system and use updated security software
Invest in antivirus software if you don’t already have it. Still, remember to only use software designed and distributed by well-known, dependable companies. Also, make automatic updates the norm for your antivirus software, web browser, and computer operating system (Windows, Mac OS, etc.).
To address security issues, programmers frequently issue updates. To protect your computer from the most recent malware and hacking attempts, ensure that your security software, browser, and operating system are all up to date.
2) Implement practical cybersecurity lessons
Students can only learn so much about cybersecurity from reading. However, cybersecurity is, in practice, an experiential field. In cybersecurity, working in a dynamic, hands-on setting is essential to any training program. Institutions should provide engaging cybersecurity tasks for kids to try out the theory they’ve been learning.
A good example is teaching your students basic ciphering techniques, such as the Caesar and Arnold ciphers. You can easily learn more about these ciphers through a simple online search.
3) Keep your data to yourself
Want to prevent your students from revealing personal information to random people online? You, too, as an adult, might want to think twice before publishing too much information online.
Anyone’s personal information can be used for identity theft if it is posted on a social media site or sent in a chat message, even yours. Always protect your identity while using the internet, and show your students how to do the same.
4) Help your children set up a password safe by introducing them to a password manager
With a password manager, you no longer have to memorize lengthy and complicated passwords to access your online accounts securely. Get a premium or family version of a password manager and teach your kids to handle their own accounts.
Consider going with a password-free login option to avoid the possibility of younger children being locked out of the password manager because they forgot the master password. With a mobile authenticator or biometric means like a fingerprint or face scan, college students can access their password vault without using a traditional password.
5) Make use of gamified cybersecurity education platforms
Teaching difficult subjects like cybersecurity through game-based methods has been shown to increase student interest in the material being taught. Incorporating elements of gaming into cybersecurity education also provides pupils with the confidence-building, hands-on experience they wouldn’t get from just reading about it.
The internet is rife with options for testing out gamified cybersecurity tools. Using such games, students who hire the best research paper writing services can gain practical experience in digital forensics, programming, password security, etc.
6) Provide a safe and secure environment by establishing household best practices for online security
Give your kids some ground rules and keep the lines of communication open regarding those restrictions when you give them their first internet-connected devices. Here are five ground rules to get you started:
- A good rule of thumb is to never save financial or other sensitive data in an online account.
- Use a password manager to create unique passwords for each service you use.
- Always have your antivirus program active in the background.
- Stay away from third-party app stores and only use Google Play and the App Store.
- Be very wary of opening links sent to you by people you don’t know.
Conclusion
Password strength is the first line of defense against identity theft online. It’s basic wisdom that any educator can provide their students. Consider using a secure password manager program.