The smell of BBQ, the sounds of splashing in the neighborhood pool, and kids sleeping until lunchtime are all signs of the beginning of summer.

While the days are longer, the unfortunate reality is that most kids spend more time on screens than normal since they lose the structure of the school day.

One thing to look out for when your children are on your family’s network is inadvertently exposing personal or professional data.  Even if they know better than to share identifying information when asked (and if they don’t, see below for tips to share), they might be recklessly disclosing private information.

Nothing can ruin summer faster than a hacker accessing what they shouldn’t and trying to ransom it back.

Below are some tips for you to share with your children this summer to stay safe from the threat of a cyber-attack.

  1. Beware of “phishing.” This is when attackers target you, trying to get you to reveal personal information.  With the popularity of video games and messaging apps, hackers can pose as other children to access this information.  Kids may be enticed by the offer of a free game, online currency, or in-app content in exchange.  Just remind them to speak to you prior to sharing anything online.
  2. Turn on privacy and parental controls. There’s no need to have location sharing online for kids, especially with social media.  Make sure that is disabled.  With Apple accounts, you can even enable “Ask To Buy” via iCloud.  You can set this up for devices in your shared family account so if one of your children wants to download an app (whether it’s free or paid) or make an in-app purchase, the main account holder can be notified first.  It’s then up to them to approve or deny the download.  Google Play has Purchase Approvals built-in for Android as well.  This gives you control over what your kids are up to online.
  3. Be cognizant of passwords. It’s a lot easier for a child to remember a password that’s their birthday or school name.  It’s also a lot easier for someone to guess when that’s what is chosen.  If a random set of letters, numbers, and characters is too hard to remember, consider investing in a password vault, like 1Password or LastPass.

Spend the summer without the hassle of worrying about a cyber-attack.  If you want to know if your family or business’ data has already been compromised with information on the dark web, sign up for a free dark web scan here: https://www.avctechcorp.com/dark-web-scan/