CyberPatriot’s cyber tips #5

The Scripps Ranch High School (SRHS) Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps has a branch dedicated to cyber security. This group participates in a national cyber security program with competitions called CyberPatriot. Here are this month’s tips:

Use HTTPS and not HTTP – SSL is used in HTTPS which encrypts your requests to the server – making it more secure.
Be mindful of what you post – don’t reveal too much information about your location or other personal revealing information.
Always make sure to cover your webcam when not video calling, to ensure others can’t see you through it.
Make sure you keep all your programs up to date!
This month, we’re going to go over some basic file encryption tips that should be widely implemented across all your devices, in order to keep your private information secure and accessible to solely you. In a world full of hackers and malicious cyber-attacks, using good encryption tools is absolutely paramount! – What is file encryption? File encryption is a method of encoding files and their sensitive information to secure them and prevent unauthorized access and tampering by malicious attackers. It ensures that only the intended user(s) can read the information in the file. In our modern world, most operating systems (OS) have built-in file encryption in certain sectors; however, you may want to check the benchmark encryption standard for your system, or privately use software to use a newer or better one. When encrypting files, it is best to use multi-layered protection, with firewalls, algorithms, antivirus software and passwords. Remember to create a unique, strong password, and always make sure your device firewall is on!
Cyber News: According to The Guardian, just a few days ago, a cyber-attack on the Australian-based company Latitude Financial led to more than 100,000 identification records and 225,000 customer records being stolen. This is a reminder that such massive data breaches continue to occur almost every day, and as the world only becomes more reliant on technology, cybersecurity is paramount to a bright future! Read more here: Hundreds of thousands of customer records stolen from lender Latitude in cyber-attack

Senior Nathan Min, commander; sophomore Veer Chopra, sergeant of SRHS CyberPatriot; and sophomore Delbert Tran, CyberPatriot NCO; are leading the CyberPatriot branch at SRHS AFJROTC.