Stop.Think.Connect campaign updated to improve Internet users' understanding of cyber threats

Source: NC State Office of Information Technology

The United States Department of Homeland Security has updated its Stop.Think.Connect campaign, a national awareness program with the goal of helping American Internet users better understand cyber threats and ensure they are safe while interacting online.

As part of its annual Cyber Security Awareness Month, the Department altered the campaign standards so they include "setting strong passwords" and not sharing them, placing a limit on the amount of personal information posted online, determining what content is appropriate to both send and receive and maintaining "an open dialogue" with friends and family with regard to online activity, according to the campaign's website.

The campaign was created five years ago in response to the consistently increasing number of cyber threats and attacks which have threatened individual security.

New combination of technology makes "sexting" an online security threat that results from a perceived lack of control

While the exchange of explicit and suggestive content has been documented for centuries, modern technology has expedited the process, ultimately increasing the chance of a threatening situation. Information can be sent instantly through phones, computers and servers. The combination of each piece of technology allows sensitive content to be moved through digital media.

Statistics courtesy of National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy 

Cyber threats associated with sexting have proven to be the result of a desire to be viewed in an ideal social context. A 2010 LG Mobile Phones survey revealed 1-in-3 teens have sent a "sext" to another individual while 1-in-4 identify the act as part of "normal teen life."

Once a video, message or picture is shared, a perceived loss of control encourages the behavior in the future and increases the risk of cyber threats. Once a "sext" is sent, the recipient is under the impression he or she is "of higher social status," encouraging the behavior again in the future, according to IKeepSafe, a nonprofit network of policy makers and members of law enforcement with the goal of creating a safer cyber environment.

In order to avoid cyber security threats associated with sexting, the Department of Homeland Security's campaign recommends identifying situations where the message receive could be "too good to be true." In alignment with the campaign standards, a message that appears too good likely is.

Lack of trained human cyber experts encourages use of computerized security systems which could expose private user information

A lack of individuals with distinct digital security experience has resulted in the protection of personal Internet information of federal employees and thousands of other online users being at risk.

Since there are few "cyber experts," individuals who specialize is protecting and regulating personal information, digital networks have been given the responsibility of guarding information. However, according to Joe Davidson of The Washington Post, the need for modern technology and more cyber experts became clear when "personal information for more than 22 million federal employees and others was stolen."

Source: Institute of Development Studies

The importance of having people to monitor Internet website content and users' personal information tends to be overlooked, Davidson points out. Booz Allen Hamilton, a consulting firm, reported in April government pay for cyber experts "is not competitive" and "a slow and ineffective hiring process drives away top candidates."

A limit on the number of cyber experts available results in a lack of security with regard to the protection of private Internet information.

Short and predictable word and number combinations enable over 80 percent of user passwords to be cracked

While it is often believed the use of passwords themselves enables private information to be leaked or easily accessible, users have a tendency to select passwords that are simple, short or can be easily predicted.

An Info Security Magazine study revealed "cracking more than 80 percent of user-selected passwords is relatively easy." Similarly, users have a tendency to use the same passwords for various websites or services. The repetition itself threatens the security of personal information. If a password is successfully guessed or obtained and the same password is used, access could be granted to bank or credit card accounts. social media sites and email inboxes.

Source: Codelord.net

Although multiple campaigns, including Start.Think.Connect, are created to encourage users to use random and complex passwords, users still have a tendency to make their passwords predictable arrangements of numbers, symbols and letters.

Consumer password managers help create and recall passwords and unique credentials can be required to access various accounts. Though most users utilize simple combinations, the use of campaigns to educate has proven to be effective. According to the Verizon Data Breach Investigations report, 66 percent of passwords in 2014 were identified weak or stolen, which is down from the 76 percent reported in 2013.

Designers of insulin pumps did not take cyber security into consideration, making such devices vulnerable to being hacked

Information saved within medical devices and the individuals who rely on them are put at risk because designers did not take cyber security issues into consideration, according to a USA Today study.

Source: SlideShare.net

Although manufacturers have been asked to place "cyber security functionality" into all medical devices, the Department of Homeland Security studied reports of medical equipment which had the potential to be hacked. As a result of the study's findings, new devices make it more challenging for health information, such a blood glucose level, to be received. However, the changes do not take old devices being used into consideration.

Since certain devices are implanted in their owners, it could take life threatening surgery to replace them. There is not a clear cut solution to prevent older devices from being hacked as a result.

In 2011, Jerome Radcliffe presented a plan for how an individual can simply hack into an insulin pump. New guidelines, including timed usage and layered authentication levels, are expected to be in place in order to ensure contemporary devices are safer than those developed in the past.