Back to School Cyber Tips From US-CERT
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Teach your children well and they might not get hacked.
Summer is winding down, and as families come back from vacation and the new school year begins, children and adults alike will be logging more time online.
Students especially will be spending more time on mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, in the classroom and at home, meaning they'll be open to all the dangers that come with those devices.
The U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team has compiled some resources for parents looking to teach their kids about cybersecurity.
"From scams to cyber bullies—if your child is old enough to have and carry a phone, then it’s also time to have a conversation with him or her about potential risks," the FBI writes.
Parents should check and maintain the privacy and security settings on the child's device as well as the apps that are on it. This includes the settings in apps that allow for location tracking.
Social media also comes with risks, so parents should also teach kids to program privacy settings to an appropriate level and to reject friend and follow requests from people they don't know and trust. Children and teens should also avoid answering texts, emails and calls from unknown numbers or accounts, as they could likely be scams.
Parents should also brush up on their password security knowledge, and then pass it along to their kids.