We increasingly rely on the internet and digital devices for daily tasks like communicating with each other, accessing financial services, and working and learning remotely.<\/p>\r\n
In 2018, 92% of American households had at least one computer, smartphone, or tablet, and 85% had broadband internet, reported the U.S. Census Bureau<\/a>. The percentage of Americans using the internet has risen from 52% in 2000 to 93% in 2021<\/a>, according to the Pew Research Center.<\/p>\r\n The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the trend of distance education in higher learning. In the fall of 2020, 75% of college students<\/a> enrolled in at least one distance education course.<\/p>\r\n The extensive use of digital devices and sharing information online can open you up to various cybersecurity dangers<\/a>. Understanding how to protect yourself from these dangers is crucial.<\/p>\r\n The best way to fight cybercrime is through awareness and prevention. Use the following statistics, stories, and tips to arm yourself on and off campus.<\/p>\r\n\r\n Cyberattacks<\/a> are malicious attempts to breach computers and information systems.<\/p>\r\n Cybercriminals often seek to use others' digital data to benefit themselves. They use phishing scams and other social engineering techniques, malware, and ransomware to attack individuals and organizations.<\/p>\r\n\r\n Sources: <\/i><\/strong>National Cybersecurity Alliance<\/i><\/a>, <\/i>FBI Internet Crime Center<\/i><\/a>, <\/i>Bolster<\/i><\/a><\/p>\r\n<\/sonic-callout>\r\n\r\n\r\n The number of cyberattacks continues to rise each year with the addition of networked devices. Cybercriminals have also developed more sophisticated tactics to gain access to private information. Cybersecurity Ventures<\/a> estimates that by 2025, cybercrime costs may cost the U.S. $10.5 trillion yearly.<\/p>\r\n The FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center<\/a> (IC3) reported an increase in suspected internet crimes from 300,000 in 2019 to 791,790 in 2020, with losses exceeding $4.1 billion. The FBI IC3 report for 2021 reports a 7% increase from 2020, with losses exceeding $6.9 billion<\/p>\r\n Cyberattack victims can suffer financial, legal, and psychological consequences. Cybercriminals can steal personal information and damage reputations.<\/p>\r\n Although college students may think of themselves as tech-savvy digital natives, 2021 research<\/a> by Atlas VPN found that millennials and Gen Z were the most likely age groups to fall for phishing emails.<\/p>\r\n Whether you are about to enter your first or final year of college, it's never too late to brush up on internet safety tips and increase your cybersecurity awareness.<\/p>\r\n\r\n Cybercrime is on the rise worldwide, driven by increased devices, social media use, cloud storage, digital downloads, and mobile and online payments. Consumers' personal and financial data is everywhere, and hackers are getting smarter at retrieving it.<\/p>\r\n Computers and mobile devices are particularly vulnerable<\/a> to malware, ransomware, and phishing attacks targeting social security numbers, credit card information, and bank account data.<\/p>\r\n The 2022 Cybersecurity Almanac<\/a> reported that with nearly 5.3 billion mobile devices worldwide, security threats are on the rise, with mobile devices accounting for more than 60% of digital fraud.<\/p>\r\n It's more important than ever to take responsibility for the safety of your computer and mobile devices while in college.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n Today, hacking is not a question of \"if\" but \"when.\" In 2021 alone, 1,043 schools faced ransomware attacks, reports Emsisoft<\/a>. No matter how secure your university networks claim to be, you must take additional steps to protect your personal devices.<\/p>\r\n Malware, a type of software that gives unauthorized access to systems and devices, was a leading cyberattack method in 2022, according to a survey by UpCity<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n To keep your tech safe from cyberattacks, experts recommend installing all software updates, arming yourself with cybersecurity tools like antivirus software, and regularly backing up your data. Remember that hackers don't discriminate. Never assume that hackers won't target your information.<\/p>\r\n Follow these steps to help protect your tech against cybercrime:<\/p>\r\n While browsing, you might have noticed that some website addresses begin \"HTTP,\" while others start with \"HTTPS.\" That single letter makes a huge difference. HTTPS websites use a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) connection that encrypts user communications and data, making them more secure for users.<\/p>\r\n Another way to determine if you are visiting a secure website is to look for the lock icon in your browser window. Unsecure HTTP sites enable hackers to view transferred information, including login credentials, in plain text format.<\/p>\r\n Torrent websites like The Pirate Bay host massive digital content repositories, including movies, music, video games, and software. Anyone can access this content at no cost, but torrenting is not risk-free. Dangers include infection from malware, penalties from your internet service provider, and legal settlements from copyright holders.<\/p>\r\n If you get rid of or lose your smartphone or computer without wiping your data, the new owner may be able to access your contacts, texts, social media accounts, and photos. In the hands of a bad actor, the consequences can be very harmful, potentially leading to identity theft.<\/p>\r\n Whether you plan to throw away, resell, recycle, or trade in your old computer or phone, you must take steps to permanently erase your data and ensure it's inaccessible.<\/p>\r\n Passwords offer relatively weak protection for personal information and data — their effectiveness depends on the user. Most of us are guilty of reusing passwords, sharing passwords with others, or writing passwords down in easily accessible locations.<\/p>\r\n Hackers use various techniques to crack passwords, including brute force attacks, phishing, and keylogger software. You may not be able to protect yourself from every method, but poor password habits can make it easy for strangers to access your devices, social media, and financial accounts.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n If you use easy-to-guess passwords, you're not alone. Millions of people still rely on notoriously simple combinations like \"123456,\" \"password,\" and \"admin\" to protect their accounts.<\/p>\r\n Cybernews <\/a>looked at 56 million breached and leaked passwords in 2022 and found that 111,417 cases used the password \"123456.\"<\/p>\r\n When protecting your devices and data, passwords are the first line of defense. The best passwords are longer than eight characters and contain various characters, symbols, and numbers.<\/p>\r\n The Electronic Frontier Foundation<\/a> recommends using a \"passphrase\" of three or more random words or a password manager like KeePassXC. The most variated 8-character password combinations only take 39 minutes to crack, while the most variated 18-character password combinations take 438 trillion years to crack, according to Hive Systems<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n We use passwords for everything, and remembering all those passwords can be difficult. Most people know they shouldn't use the same password for multiple accounts, but old habits die hard. A 2022 Ipsos poll<\/a> conducted for Google found that two in three Americans reuse passwords for different online accounts.<\/p>\r\n We all know the pain of being temporarily locked out of our accounts after guessing too many incorrect combinations. Using the same password across multiple websites is incredibly tempting, but password reuse can pose a major cybersecurity risk.<\/p>\r\n Contact apps store phone numbers, home addresses, email addresses, and birthdays. Information stored in our phone and contacts are protected by our mobile operating systems.<\/p>\r\n However, due to data syncing to cloud servers and other linked applications using this information, it's possible that contact information can be distributed elsewhere. Therefore, it's not a good idea to store your mom's credit card information or your friend's home security code in the \"Notes\" section of their contact page.<\/p>\r\n In a nod to the data privacy concerns that arise with phone contacts, the Freedom of the Press Foundation<\/a> encourages journalists to protect their sources by securing their online address books. The organization points out that hackers may get access to any of the sensitive data you store on your phone when it backs up to the cloud.<\/p>\r\n You shouldn't try to hide your own sensitive information in Contacts, either. Work on memorizing your social security number instead of disguising it as a phone number under \"Steven St. Nicholas.\"<\/p>\r\n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\r\n\r\n Phishing is a hacking method in which fraudulent emails, websites, texts (\"smishing\"), and other forms of electronic communication obtain sensitive information like usernames, passwords, and credit card details. The FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center<\/a> (IC3) reported phishing was the most common cybercrime in 2021, with 323,972 victims that year and over $44 million in losses.<\/p>\r\n Young people often start handling their own finances for the first time in college, taking on the responsibilities of credit cards, loans, and bank accounts. This abundance of sensitive data, combined with inexperience, makes college students an ideal target for phishing attacks. Cybersecurity awareness is the best way to keep yourself safe.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n Phishing emails are a tried-and-true method for hackers to obtain personal or private information. In 2021, phishers targeted U.S. universities by sending emails that tricked recipients into submitting their Microsoft Office 365 credentials on a fake online portal.<\/p>\r\n More recently, since the Biden administration opened the application for student loan forgiveness, college students have been the target of student loan debt relief phishing scams<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n These emails claim to be able to put applicants in the front of the line and then ask for payment or personal details like your credit card information or bank account number.<\/p>\r\n Phishing emails typically appear to come from trusted senders and request that you verify banking details, login credentials, or credit card information. These emails may feature the same layout, color scheme, and language of the real entity, and may link to a site specifically designed to spoof the real thing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n Recognize and avoid phishers with the following tips:<\/p>\r\n Fake emails with infected attachments are a common phishing scam. In some cases, these attachments may be perfectly harmless, but many contain malware and other nasty features, activated with just a click. Using these tools, phishers can steal sensitive information, demand a ransom for the safe return of your data, or even remotely take over your device.<\/p>\r\n For example, a 2022 phishing scam targeting Microsoft Windows users tricked email recipients into downloading a Microsoft Excel attachment that delivers three types of malware. Students received several such emails a week, often with suspicious attachments that they should be careful not to open.<\/p>\r\n Millions of people received an email containing dangerous coronavirus malware<\/a> in 2020, including 10% of all organizations in Italy. The email got people to inadvertently install a trojan downloader that allowed hackers to steal their private data and spy on them.<\/p>\r\n Review these tips before opening an email attachment:<\/p>\r\n College students love texting and social media, but sometimes we still need to pick up the phone for an old-fashioned call. Phone scams are a popular tactic of phishers looking for financial information, largely because they are proven to work.<\/p>\r\n For example, robocalls cost Americans over $29 billion<\/a> in 2021, according to Connecticut Attorney General, William Tong. In 2022, an international master's student in Canada lost nearly $11,000<\/a> to phone scammers who falsely threatened her with deportation for supposed criminal activity, reports CBC.<\/p>\r\n Recently, major mobile carriers, including T-Mobile, AT&T, and Sprint introduced scam protection features to help fight phishing calls.<\/p>\r\n You can see this in action when your caller ID labels an incoming number as \"scam likely\" or \"potential fraud.\" This screening feature checks callers against a database of reported scam numbers.<\/p>\r\n Unfortunately, some phishing calls still slip through. Watch out for scams related to scholarships and financial aid, employment, and student loan debt relief.<\/p>\r\n Protect yourself from suspicious calls with these tips:<\/p>\r\n Many phishing attempts depend on tricking the recipient into providing sensitive information. But, more malicious phishing texts can contain links to malwareDouble-check your activity, data, and files without your knowledge.<\/p>\r\n According to a RoboKiller report<\/a>, over 58 billion spam text messages led to a loss of $10 billion for Americans in 2021.<\/p>\r\n In recent years, hackers have targeted both Apple and Android devices. Once discovered, manufacturers quickly develop software patches that address vulnerabilities and close security loopholes. To protect your device from malware:<\/p>\r\n About 7-in-10 Americans use social media, reports the Pew Research Center<\/a>. According to their 2021 survey, 76% of 18- to 29-year-olds used Instagram, 75% used Snapchat, and 55% used TikTok.<\/p>\r\n We use social media to stay in touch with new and old friends, entertain ourselves, and explore identities. However, social media use may be linked to anxiety and depression, according to a 2021 Social Science Research Network<\/a> paper. College students may also experience harassment and cyberbullying or fall victim to online scams.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n A 2021 Pew Research Center<\/a> survey found that about 4-in-10 Americans experienced online harassment, including anything from offensive name-calling and purposeful embarrassment to stalking and physical threats. Even more disturbingly, 64% of U.S. adults under 30 experienced online harassment.<\/p>\r\n Cyberbullying poses a real danger to victims' mental and emotional health. In extreme cases, online harassment and stalking can threaten your physical safety and security. To protect yourself against cyberbullies, consider the following tips:<\/p>\r\n If you become the target of cyberbullying or harassment:<\/p>\r\n Hackers attack every 39 seconds for an average of 2,244 attacks per day, reports Security Magazine<\/a>. Phishers and hackers commonly use spoofed accounts, hacked accounts, and fake pages to send and share malicious links disguised as surprising or enticing videos<\/a>, prizes or awards<\/a>, or advertisements<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n Malware ads include links that may lead to fake Facebook sign-in pages asking you to verify your credentials, other websites asking for personal information, or sites with drive-by download<\/a> links. These sites automatically download malware to your device and potentially steal data without your knowledge.<\/p>\r\n Hackers can easily identify your interests and tailor messages, posts, and scams accordingly. They may hijack accounts or create imitations to make you think you're talking to your best friend or sibling. Always stay alert and suspicious.<\/p>\r\n We all want to know what Disney character our profile picture most resembles. Still, the Better Business Bureau<\/a> recommends avoiding Facebook polls and quizzes that require you to give random sites permission to access your account information. You never know where your information might end up.<\/p>\r\n When it comes to social media, the old adage applies: \"If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.\" No one will give you a free car if you like and share a post.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n Students can be scammed – intentionally or not — by their social media connections. In 2021, Murray State College<\/a> in Tishomingo, Oklahoma announced that scammers targeted students with fake social media pages using the National Junior College Athletic Association's logo. These fake pages claimed to stream the school's athletic events in exchange for students' credit card numbers.<\/p>\r\n Cybercriminals can take advantage of students trying to save money by making financial promises that are too good to be true. Scammers might pretend to be fellow classmates, professors, alumni, or even employees at the financial aid office. Review some tips to protect yourself from social media scams:<\/p>\r\n Broadly defined, non-consensual pornography is the distribution of private, intimate, or sexually explicit images and videos without consent. Also called \"revenge porn,\" nonconsensual pornography is usually shared by the victim's ex-partner, often as a way to \"get back\" at the victim for perceived wrongdoing after a fight or break up.<\/p>\r\n Personal photos may also be obtained and shared by hackers. According to a 2020 study<\/a> by the American Psychological Association, 1-in-12 Americans reported being the victims of revenge porn at least once in their lifetime.<\/p>\r\n As of 2022, 42 states and Washington, DC have specific laws on the books concerning the distribution of revenge porn. Potential penalties vary from misdemeanors to felonies<\/a>, with consequences including probation, fines, and\/or imprisonment.<\/p>\r\nWhy Cybersecurity Awareness Is Important<\/h2>\r\n
Cybersecurity Fast Facts<\/h3>\r\n
Computer and Mobile Security Vulnerabilities<\/h2>\r\n
When You Don’t Protect Your Computer and Mobile Phone<\/h3>\r\n
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When You Visit Unsecure or Torrent Websites<\/h3>\r\n
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When You Discard or Sell Old Devices Without Wiping Them Clean<\/h3>\r\n
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Password Security Weaknesses<\/h2>\r\n
When Your Password Is Too Easy<\/h3>\r\n
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When You Use the Same Password for Numerous Sites<\/h3>\r\n
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When You Store Sensitive Data in Contacts on Your Phone<\/h3>\r\n
Phishing Attacks<\/h2>\r\n
When You Follow a Fake Link or Reply to a Fake Email<\/h3>\r\n
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When You Open an Infected Attachment<\/h3>\r\n
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When You Answer a Suspicious Phone Call<\/h3>\r\n
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When You Follow a Malware Link in a Text<\/h3>\r\n
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Social Media Dangers<\/h2>\r\n
When You’re Harassed, Bullied, or Stalked on Social Media<\/h3>\r\n
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When You're Hacked Through a Social Media Post<\/h3>\r\n
When You're Scammed by a Social Media Connection<\/h3>\r\n
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When You're the Subject of Non-Consensual Pornography<\/h3>\r\n
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