Staying Safe Online Stephan Freeman

Increasing numbers of people on social networking sites More and more people leading their lives online Varying degrees of confidence online Still more to be done Where do you go for help?

What’s the problem? Loads of information about individuals online Criminals getting more sophisticated – following the money Current estimates – global Internet crime economy: $43bn The Internet is another public space – the same problems exist as in the “real world” Don’t treat the online world any different to reality

The Rise of Social Networks Over 200m people now on Facebook Improvements in awareness of privacy controls: 2007 – 50% of respondents to a GetSafeOnline survey didn’t know that privacy controls existed in social networking sites 2009 – 75% of people have now set their privacy settings Need to get the message to the remaining 25% Huge amount of information available

Social Network Risks Malware – “click on this link” Harassment – cyberbullying/stalking/worse Career prospects – drunken party photos never go away Extortion – guilty secrets Confidence Tricksters – friends in need

Social Network Risks

Privacy Controls

Social Networking

Other Current Threats Fake anti-virus – criminals selling you malware Money Mules – easy money = money laundering Phishing scams – if in doubt, don’t reply ID theft – getting credit in your name

Fake Anti-Virus

Money Mules

If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is Often references Western Union Offers fast money Will leave you out of pocket and trash your credit rating

Phishing

Never give out your password – treat your password with respect Beware of banking scams – especially from banks you don’t bank with! Report it!: if it relates to LSE, please tell the helpdesk anything else, forward to

ID theft Rip up or shred important documents Check your credit rating Search for yourself online Consider what you put online – if it could potentially cause you damage, don’t do it!

Simple measures Don’t use the same password for everything Do make sure you have anti-virus software installed Do check out resources online Do set your privacy settings in Facebook et al. Do keep your computer up-to-date – including the browser! Do keep backups of important data

And this applies to LSE… Personal data held as part of projects is covered by the Data Protection Act The Conditions of Use of IT Services set out internal rules – please read them Don’t share your password with anyone – IT Services will never ask you for your password Visit the Laptop Surgery if you think your PC is infected Download the free anti virus that LSE provides for all students – including Mac users!

Online resources LSE IT Services website: GetSafeOnline: TUC WorkSmart: Information Security Awareness Forum: Sophos Facebook Best Practice Guide:

Questions? Stephan Freeman