When most people think of cybersecurity, they think of a highly specialized, very technical field of technology. While that is true, cybersecurity also involves educating and securing habits of the end user, which in our case includes NISD students and staff.
Check out these tips below for what YOU can do to keep your district and personal accounts cybersecure.
STUDENT Cybersmart Tips
Cybersecurity for a student is all about awareness. Most of this information can be found inside the existing digital citizenship curriculum. These tips further enhance practices that a student can take to increase their digital security.
Passwords
Strong passwords are important to protect our personal and sensitive information from unauthorized access. Common passwords or weak passwords can be obtained through various methods. Secure your information and frustrate would-be hackers with strong passwords!
The Longer the Stronger (at least 16 characters)
Make them random either with mixed-case letters “h&afSX2a*!DiiP” or a phrase of 5-7 unrelated words called a “passphrase”, such as S@ndyBr3adBac0nShortPhon3y
Make them unique, us a different password for each account
Regularly change your password; see instructions here.
Digital Citizenship Lessons
Northwest ISD will develop citizens who know how to harness the learning potential of digital media in a 24/7 connected world, safely, effectively, ethically, and respectfully. By developing and practicing these skills, students will become leaders in this digital society and be future-ready. Students receive 5 age-appropriate, unique Digital Citizenship Lessons each year that center around the following topics:
Digital Identity & Reputation
Rights and Obligations of Intellectual Property
Ethics of Online Behavior (Social)
Ethics of Online Behavior (Professional)
Digital Privacy & Security
STAFF Cybersmart Tips
Northwest ISD is dedicated to protecting our students and staff from cyber threats. To help achieve this goal, it is important that our staff members remain diligent in identifying cyber threats. The following tips will help you be a more secure in your professional and personal spaces.
Passwords
Strong passwords are important to protect our personal and sensitive information from unauthorized access. Common passwords or weak passwords can be obtained through various methods. Secure your information and frustrate would-be hackers with strong passwords!
The Longer the Stronger (at least 16 characters)
Make them random either with mixed-case letters “h&afSX2a*!DiiP” or a phrase of 5-7 unrelated words called a “passphrase”, such as S@ndyBr3adBac0nShortPhon3y
Make them unique, us a different password for each account
Use a password manager to store your passwords and keep you secure!
Regularly change your password
Software Updates
Software updates are a vital part of cybersecurity; they often patch security flaws, add new security features, fix bugs issues, and improve performance. Luckily for us, NISD installs these updates on district-owned devices automatically, but it's important in our personal lives to keep vigilant against cyber threats.
Restart/shut down devices on a weekly basis so they receive proper updates and patches
Enable automatic updates whenever possible
Do not use unsupported/end-of-life software
If you need to manually install an update, visit the vendor site directly rather than clicking on an advertisement or email link
Phishing
The number one tool in a cyber criminal's toolbox (or bait box) is phishing. This technique for attempting to acquire sensitive data, such as login information, ID numbers, or other personal data, is often attempted through a fraudulent email or on a web site. The attacker will try to trick their target by posing as a legitimate person or message. Keep yourself safe by following these tips:
Check if the email comes from an email address ending in @nisdtx.org
Pay attention if the information shared seems phishy, such as an uncharacteristic request or wording
LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP! Look at the link before clicking, and NEVER fill in credentials on a page that doesn’t seem normal.
When in doubt, take a different route, by contacting the real person or navigating to the real site to verify its authenticity.
If you do provide sensitive information to an attacker, immediately report it to the technology department. Mistakes can happen, and by acting quickly to rectify them we can mitigate attacks!
Multi-Factor Authentication
Multifactor Authentication (MFA) is a POWERFUL way to protect yourself from attacks. MFA requires you to present two pieces of evidence when logging in. The system is simply validating that you are who you say you are and not a cybercriminal that may have stolen your password. With MFA enabled, knowing or cracking the password won’t be enough to gain access, which is why MFA can block over 99.9 percent of account compromise attacks. Many services and websites offer the ability to use MFA in conjunction with a number of free authenticators that are available to anyone.
