Digital Security Resources for Parents

Internet Safety 101 site: Enough Is Enough® understands that Internet safety is a shared responsibility between the public, the Internet industry, and the legal community. However, parents remain the 'first line of defense' in protecting their children against Internet safety dangers. Unfortunately, parents, educators and other caring adults are ill-equipped, uninformed and often overwhelmed when it comes to Internet safety issues, and they need credible outside help. As the nation's leading Internet safety organization since 1994, EIE has responded to this call for action by creating Internet Safety 101SM, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice. Internet Safety 101SM is a widely-renowned resource and teaching series that paints a comprehensive picture of the dangers children encounter online. Through the Internet Safety 101SM program, EIE strives to educate and empower parents, educators and other caring adults with the information they need to effectively protect children from Internet dangers.

 Link: https://internetsafety101.org/parentsguidetosocialmedia

A Parent's Guide to SmartPhone Security: with this guide you can make your smartphone safer for your kids in just 11 easy steps. 

Link: https://internetsafety101.org/objects/Parents_Guide_to_Smart_Phone_Security.pdf

FBI Parents Resources: Get advice and information to help protect your children from dangers lurking in both the online and offline worlds.  

• About Protecting Your Kids: Learn how to Contact The FBI; Report child abductions or abuse
• FBI Child ID App: The FBI's Child ID App provides parents with an easy way to electronically store their children’s information and identity.
• Get advice and information to help protect your children from dangers lurking in both the online and offline worlds.

Link: https://www.fbi.gov/resources/parents

KidsHealth - Internet Safety Guide: The Internet can be wonderful for kids. They can use it to research school reports, communicate with teachers and other kids, and play interactive games.
But online access also comes with risks, like inappropriate content, cyberbullying, and online predators. Using apps and websites where kids interact, predators may pose as a child or teen looking to make a new friend. They might prod the child to exchange personal information, such as address and phone number, or encourage kids to call them, seeing their phone number via caller ID.

Link: https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/net-safety.html

Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI): Need help talking with your kids about online safety? Want to know about parental controls? Looking for a simple set of rules to use with your children? FOSI’s Good Digital Parenting provides you with videos, tip sheets, resources, blogs, and more.

Link: https://www.fosi.org/good-digital-parenting/

National Cyber Security Alliance/Stay Safe Online: Here are helpful links from the National Cyber Security Alliance's sponsors, partners and friends to help you and your friends and family be safer and more secure online.

Link: https://staysafeonline.org/stay-safe-online/related-links/

Tom's Guide: Best Parental Control Apps 2019: The best parental-control apps for smartphones can help you track your kids, see whom they are communicating with, block kids from viewing objectionable or dangerous websites, and even help kids understand the value of limits while preventing them from accessing adult content or communicating with strangers.

Link: https://www.tomsguide.com/us/best-parental-control-apps,review-2258.html

PCMag.com - The Best Tracking Devices for Kids: Kids get lost. GPS and Bluetooth trackers can help find them and keep them safe. With the help of our own children, we've tested clips, smartwatches, and wearables to determine what type works best and which one is right for you.

Link: https://www.pcmag.com/roundup/362044/the-best-tracking-devices-for-kids

OpenDNS - Basic Web Filtering and Protection: OpenDNS is the name of a Domain Name System (DNS) service as well as of the company that provides that service. The OpenDNS service extends the DNS by incorporating features such as content filtering and phishing protection.  Get OpenDNS Family Shield

Link: https://www.opendns.com/setupguide/#familyshield

Geek Squad Has A Great Video on 5 Tips to Protect Your Kids Online

Just a quick post:  From homework to video games, school-aged children are connected to the online world now more than ever. In this 2 Minute Miracle video Geek Squad Agents Josh Musicant and Eric Irish offer five simple tips to protect your children online.  They cover the following tips:




1.  Use a trusted filtering software software: Cyber Patrol, Norton, and Spysweeper
2.  Maximize your current software.  MS Windows and MAC OS controls.
3.  Use of your wireless router.  Blocking websites and protecting the Access Point
4.  Controlling what kids access via online gaming by using the rating system.
5.  Social networking.  Keep the computer in a place where you can watch your kids online.


I posted a guide to protect your kids online HERE.

Who's Behind All this Hacking - Pt. 1 - Organized Crime

Who would want to break into my home computer?

Intruders (also referred to as hackers, attackers, or crackers) may not care about your identity. Often they want to gain control of your computer so they can use it to launch attacks on other computer systems.  Having control of your computer gives them the ability to hide their true location as they launch attacks, often against high-profile computer systems such as government or financial systems. Even if you have a computer connected to the Internet only to play the latest games or to send email to friends and family, your computer may be a target.  Intruders may be able to watch all your actions on the computer, or cause damage to your computer by reformatting your hard drive or changing your data.

Many of today's intruders are sponsored by organized crime and most of the exploits we're seeing are geared to gaining control of many thousands of machines at a time through which your computer becomes part of an online neighborhood of sorts.  Once control is gained your computer can be bought and sold to the highest bidder.  Your system becomes a commodity, not unlike our own homes. In fact, this online transaction is often referred to as buying and selling  "Electronic Real Estate."  Today it is estimated that many millions of computers are part of this underground market and that there are whole "armies" of computers, under someone else's control, ready to wage cyber war against countries, organizations, and other online communities.

Organized Crime Hacking Intel Sheet

Motivation:  Support illegal/underground activities, cartels, & other activities like; human trafficking, drug trade, terrorism, bank/credit fraud.

Funding: Funded primarily with illegal sources (stolen credit card info, personal info, selling hacked computer bot networks.) Often government involvement is “two-way”.

Capabilities: Well funded/staffed efforts underway, mostly geared towards theft of financial information of direct targets, communication with actors, transfer of monies, and the masking of activities.

Advanced Hacking Techniques.  Infected websites, malware development, botnet creation, system cracking, USB flash drive infections, hard disk encryption cracking.

Data Harvesting Capacity.  Open source data gathering and correlation, system cracking and data extraction, use of keyloggers, password stealers, data capturing services, and website redirection.

Use traditional espionage techniques with hacking.  A majority of today’s botnets are designed and maintained by organized crime.  It is estimated that up to 75% of computers are infected with a virus.  Most virus’ today come from organized crime.

I believe that it is NOW time to take our systems back. We need to do all we can to seize control of our systems and provide a barrier between our systems and those intent on taking them from us.  This really is a primary purpose of this site.  I want to give you the tools, links and practices that will help you fight the bad guys.

Presentation: Combat Readiness In the IT Infrastructure

Content Removed.