We All Need to Be Aware of Phishing Emails

Phishing is a disgusting scam that is discussed in Chapter 17. The FBI's 2017 internet crime report identified over $675 million in losses from this type of cybercrime.

I hope most institutions have beefed up their security against these emails since the days when I used to regularly report emails to IT that my colleagues apparently ignored. My sense also is that my students were not very careful. Perhaps they were even gullible, especially to the "something for nothing" offers.

Whether you approach this subject from a personal perspective or from a business one, it is important. I think the updated information in this new post will be helpful. You could even use the Google test in class as an engagement device.

Cell Phones and Data Protection

We all use our cell phones at all times in all sorts of places. In my experience our students can be extremely careless of their data security in general and their cell phone security in particular.

I've just posted a link to the article with this excellent 2+ minute video on my privacy blog. It's perfect for use in class.

Just beneath it there's a good post (if I do say so myself :) on the major security threats in 2019 which would also provide content for a good class update.

Enjoy--and stay safe!

Have Your Students Changed Their Facebook Passwords Yet?

We all know that Facebook announced last week that it had suffered a breach of 50 million accounts. There's no information yet on who and why, but one thing is clear. This is a good time for all of us to tighten the security around our Facebook accounts.

Actually, I don't use Facebook much. There are a couple of closed groups I enjoy, but public Facebook just got to be too much for me. I decided to change my password on principle and the results were interesting. I wrote a post yesterday that describes who was affected (I wasn't) and tells about my experience in changing my Facebook password.

It also explains why my banking password was related to my Facebook password (doesn't that sound dumb, just on the face of it???) and my experience in trying to change that.

Today I updated it with a post about Facebook's use of our mobile numbers (what we were led to believe when we provided them?) and good ways to use 2-factor authentication to protect a Facebook account.

P.S. Today starts National Cybersecurity Awareness Month and I have committed to trying to post on the subject every day in October. Drop by and find some good tips and resources! Then look for #CyberAware wherever you go in October!

Related Updates
How to find out if your account was included in the September breach