More and more information is being released about the major security hack of Facebook, Gmail, and LinkedIn (see Dec 4th post "Hacking Social Media and Password Security"). In my post, there is some basic information about password security, most commonly hacked passwords, and some brief topics about creating better passwords. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that parents need to teach their children about digital security. As you talk to your children about the big issues in life, be sure to add in topics pertaining to their digital footprint. Although, we, as parents, may not accept or understand why our children think so highly of their digital life, our lack of understanding does not give us a free pass to ignore the significance of proper training for them. What they do now online WILL come back to haunt them some day. Parents are catching on to Cyberbullying, releasing too much personal information, and inappropriate selfies, but most of us forget the huge issue of digital security. Improper training can lead to unwanted postings to social media in their name, and the ever rising issue of youth identity theft. Here's some topics for discussion:
- Password security (creating secure passwords)
- Sharing of passwords with friends
- Not logging out of visited websites on public computers
- Updating passwords every six to twelve months
- Password keeper apps ( @keeper is great free app with paid advanced features)
- Writing passwords and keeping them in secure locations such as parents filing cabinets
