From Passwords to Phishing: A Parent’s Guide to Back-to-School Digital Security By Subbu Sthanu, CCO at IPVanish
Back-to-school shopping is around the corner, and cybersecurity should be on every parent’s checklist. It is no secret that technology now plays a massive role in education, primarily as 89% of K-12 instructors use digital tools in their classrooms. This increased reliance on technology has exposed students to heightened risk. In 2023 alone, almost 2 million student records were breached in 65 individual attacks, with a significant portion of the data leaked belonging to K-12 students. K-12 schools are also the top target for ransomware attacks. As online threats rise, parents must take proper precautions to protect their children.
Here are the top four cybersecurity tips parents need to know before sending their children back to an educational environment that is no longer confined to four walls due to technology:
- Encourage best password practices: This year, don’t let your children’s old passwords carry over – and their pet’s name won’t suffice either. The Verizon 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report shows that around 81% of hacking-related breaches are due to weak, reused, or stolen passwords. When creating new passwords this year, students should ensure they’re strong, unique to every account, and don’t use personal information.
- Educate about phishing: Back-to-school season is a prime time for hackers looking to send phishing emails and messages to unknowing students. Educate your kids on how to spot a scam by looking for typical red flags such as suspicious links, typos, incorrect information, and unknown senders. This threat doesn’t only apply to students, either! Familiarize yourself with the phishing tactics designed to fool parents this time of year, such as scholarship, tutoring, textbook rental, and work-from-home scams.
- Use a cloud backup service: Students open and send dozens of documents daily, and without secure backup, they risk losing a year’s worth of schoolwork in mere seconds. A cloud backup service like IPVanish’s Livedrive offers secure file storage, syncing, sharing, and backup solutions, ensuring convenient access to your students’ files while prioritizing the security of their data.
- Use a VPN for extra security: A VPN is a security tool that can encrypt your internet traffic and hide your IP address. VPNs help keep your child’s data private, from health records to contact details to home addresses, and they are essential for preventing access to known malicious websites, including phishing schemes, maladvertising, and malware-embedded sites. All VPNs aren’t created equal, so parents should look for advanced capabilities like IPVanish’s Threat Protection and Kill Switch features to ensure your student’s internet experience is as secure and convenient as possible .
To ensure students’ personal information, data, and documents are secure this school year, parents need to familiarize themselves with the risks that the rise of technology use in education creates. Implementing a VPN and teaching your children about common online threats is a cost-effective way to protect their privacy so you can easily send them to school, knowing their information won’t fall into the wrong hands.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
