Are Your Teens Safe Online?

"It's 11pm and you decide to check in on your 15 year old daughter before you call it a night. As you make small talk, you realize she's fully engaged in her phone bouncing from Snapchat to Instagram to Twitter. Her phone is blowing up with snaps and you wonder who are all of these people? How did she get over a thousand Twitter followers? What do they know about her? Is this safe for teens?"

Social media and online gaming have taken over our teens. At the same time, cybercriminals are becoming more advanced at hacking devices through these platforms. Teens must be informed about cybersecurity. Sites like YouTube seem harmless but malicious links can be entered into the comments.

Online Gaming

Online gamers are being hacked. Educate teens to be aware of social engineering or pop-up ads/links offering free game upgrades, etc. as some hackers claim that sites are under maintenance to gain login credentials.

Teens' Digital Footprint

Teens need to know about the digital footprint that is being left behind and realize that colleges/employers are looking at them. Not only do they need to be aware of the content that they are posting/sharing but they need to be aware of anything being posted with their name and likeness should their account be compromised.

Best Practices Include:

• Log off of apps frequently.
• Change passwords on a regular basis and use two-step verification.
• Acknowledge the consequences that go with posting/sharing on social media including screenshot capabilities for anything posted.
• Recognize that any activity can be tracked back to your computer/device.
• Continue to update devices and apps.
• Deactivate and delete unused accounts.
• Pay attention to location sharing settings.
• Realize that if an offer seems too good to be true, it most likely is.
• Turn on restrictions when using sites such as YouTube.

You care about educating your employees on cybersecurity and it makes sense to educate our teens. Excellent cybersecurity habits will benefit everyone on both a professional and a personal level. To see more TechGuard blog topics click here.