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Crunch Network
Six Lessons From Cybersecurity Superhero Training
Posted Nov 21, 2015 by Chris Richter
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Chris RichterCrunch Network Contributor
Chris Richter is the senior vice president of global security services
at Level 3 Communications.
How to join the network
One of my distinct grade-school memories is filing out of fourth grade
class, nervous, but excited to miss a portion of math class. We were
having our quarterly disaster-survival drill; instructing students on
what to do in case disaster strikes.
While the type of drill varies by location, just about every school kid
has participated in a hurricane, tornado, fire or flood drill so they
are prepared to handle the situation should it arise.
While working through yet another attempted malicious cybersecurity
attack it dawned on me, why can’t we apply this diligence and training
to cybersecurity? Why can’t we have cybersecurity drills?
Today, children are savvy consumers of technology. If you’ve passed by
a television in the last month you may have seen the ads for Microsoft
10. It starts with great music and a voiceover, “Imagine, these kids
won’t have to remember passwords or obsess about security…” This seemed
a little naïve to me. According to a 2014 report from IBM, 95 percent
of IT security breaches are caused by human error. And it gets worse.
You may also be shocked to learn “123456” is the most common password
on the Internet, closely followed by “password,” according to
SplashData’s annual list of 25 most common passwords.
Why? The answer seems simple: The majority of the population does not
receive cybersecurity training in any form.
We must do something about the lack of cybersecurity education
available. People should know the basic ways to protect their online
reputation. I think the solution is to go straight to the native
generations. Kids in school today are very familiar and comfortable
with tech gadgets. They have access to laptops, tablets,
Internet-connected watches and mobile phones all day long.
My company was contacted by a local school because a sixth grader
hacked the school district’s firewall to override the web content
controls. It wasn’t a malicious black hat attack, the student simply
wanted to access restricted content on a school computer.
Think about it. While the hack wasn’t malicious, it was performed by a
sixth grader! How old is a child in the sixth grade, 11 or 12? The fact
that a child at such a young age has these skills underscores the
point: We can’t underestimate the cyber skills of the upcoming
generation — or anyone, for that matter.
Technology won’t keep us safe if we don’t adhere to cybersecurity
basics.
What we can and should do is seize the opportunity for a teachable
moment, where we can demonstrate the right course of action and inspire
kids to work for the good guys. In this case, we participated in an
all-day cybersecurity superhero training program at the school to help
students and faculty understand basic cybersecurity rules of the road.
Everything Is Connected
We kicked off the training by asking the room full of students if they
had a smart phone, computer or tablet at home. Every hand in the room
shot up in the air. The first step for good cybersecurity hygiene is to
identify all the ways you and your family are connected to the
Internet. You might be surprised once you start counting and realize
all of the IP-enabled devices in your home.
Passwords
Next, we asked the kids if they knew a strong password. One student
took the bait and shouted out her secret code. We hammered home that
kids shouldn’t share passwords with anyone except their caregivers. We
also detailed what goes into a strong password. The kids were surprised
to learn they shouldn’t use names of pets or best friends, as those
words are easy to find on social media. Passwords should include
letters, numbers and symbols, and should be at least eight characters.
And everyone should change their passwords regularly.
Lock Those Screens
Next, the kids learned the importance of screen time outs and auto
locks. One security expert on the panel used an Apple Watch as an
example. The minute it was taken off his wrist, no student could access
it.
You Did Not Win $1 Million
Then students learned about safe clicking. When playing games or
perusing the Internet, they may experience a pop-up box claiming they
are a winner or that their computer needs an immediate update. Kids
(and parents) should never click on these links. Close the window and
move on.
The Biggest Fish You Ever Caught
When asked about fishing, many kids told stories of hanging out on the
water. No one knew about phishing and spear phishing. Once they learned
what this cyber risk was all about, most realized they had received an
email from a stranger asking for something. The team taught the kids to
never open suspicious emails or click on unknown links.
Software Updates
Software updates were a hot topic of discussion. The students needed to
understand that software updates are an important way companies provide
security updates. However, they need to make sure they access only
updates from the company or a program’s website. Otherwise, these
updates could be pop-up malware.
The day closed out with a panel of white hats chatting with the kids
about using their powers for good. Topics ranged from games to programs
to what a job in cybersecurity might look like. Hopefully we inspired
the gifted young student who hacked the school’s firewall to use his
powers for good.
What I discovered is something I think I have known innately: This type
of basic training and preparedness helps to create a society of people
who are aware of the dangers, how to prevent them and know what to do
in case something happens. Even better, it is something that can be
shared. We asked these kids to go home and make sure their parents and
relatives abide by these new standards, changing passwords and updating
software.
There are no silver bullets. Technology won’t keep us safe if we don’t
adhere to cybersecurity basics.
Featured Image: Yuravector/Shutterstock
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