Young U.S. Internet users are not receiving enough education about being safe online, according to a new poll by the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and supported by Microsoft. U.S. Schools Fall Short On Cybersecurity Education More than three quarters of teachers have spent fewer than six hours on education related to cyberethics, cybersafety, and cybersecurity in the last 12 months; more than 50% of teachers reported their school districts do not require these subjects as curriculum; and only 35% taught proper online conduct. Key highlights of the survey include: *More than 90% of technology coordinators school administrators and teachers support teaching cyberethics, cybersafety and cybersecurity in schools. However, only 35% of teachers and just over half of school administrators report that their school districts require cyberethics, cybersafety, and cybersecurity in their curriculum. *Low levels of integration of key cyberethics, cybersecurity, and cybersafety topics into everyday instructional activities. For example, only 27% of teachers taught about the safe use of social networks, only 18% taught about scams, fraud and social engineering, and only 19% taught about safe passwords in the past 12 months. Additionally, 32% of teachers indicated they had not taught cyberethics, and 44% of teachers had not taught cybersafety or cybersecurity. *Differing opinions between teachers and administrators as to who is or should be responsible (parents vs. teachers) for educating students about cyberethics, cybersafety, and cybersecurity. For example, while 72% of teachers indicated that parents bear the primary responsibility for teaching these topics, 51% of school administrators indicate that teachers are responsible. “The study illuminates that there is no cohesive effort to provide young people the education they need to safely and securely navigate the digital age and prepare them as digital citizens and employees,” said Michael Kaiser, Executive Director of the National Cyber Security Alliance . “Unfortunately, we are not meeting the needs of schools, teachers, or students. The survey also found schools rely on shielding students instead of teaching behaviors for safe and secure Internet use. More than 90 percent of schools have built up digital defenses, such as filtering and blocking social networking sites, to protect children on school networks. Those measures may help reduce the online risks children face at school, they do not prepare students to act more safely when accessing the Internet at home or on mobile devices.

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U.S. Schools Fall Short On Cybersecurity Education

A lot of security-related talk revolves around computers, and rightly so - historically, they’ve been the most vulnerable electronic device. But as cell phones get more and more advanced, experts are pointing out that it may prove necessary to be careful when using them, too. Mobile Security Becoming A Hotter Topic Brad Stone recently noted a number of ways in which phones can be compromised. On the most basic level, many smartphones are, of course, threatened by the same “don’t click on that” stuff that can harm computers. Visiting a malware-infected site or downloading a virus isn’t certain to be safe just because a person’s not sitting in front of a large monitor. Then there are applications to consider. Smartphone users are growing used to getting powerful little software bundles for free, and in the same way that people used to harm their computers while trying to download screensavers, they can do unpleasant things to their phones will trying to acquire a new game or restaurant finder. Phones’ connectivity can pose a problem, too. Stone wrote that the cofounders of a security company called Lookout “have been publicly demonstrating the weaknesses of mobile phones for some time. In 2005, they camped outside the Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood and scanned the phones of stars walking the red carpet, using a short-range Bluetooth wireless connection. They found that as many as 100 of the phones were vulnerable to hacking over such a connection.” Consider demonstrating some care while using your phone, then, and perhaps power down before wandering near any hackers’ conventions, too.

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Mobile Security Becoming A Hotter Topic

The position of White House Cybersecurity Coordinator has finally been filled. Earlier this week, Howard Schmidt was awarded the job, and initial reactions to his appointment have been quite positive. White House Cybersecurity Czar Named Schmidt’s resume is almost impossible to criticize. He has ties to Carnegie Mellon’s CyLab, the Georgia Institute of Technology’s GTISC, Idaho State University, and the Ponemon Institute, signaling that he’s very intelligent. Furthermore, he spent a handful of years in the Air Force, and served as a police officer for over a decade. He’s worked for both Microsoft and eBay, too, and in between, filled a cybersecurity-related role for George W. Bush. Meaning he’s not exactly a bookworm with no real-world experience. Schmidt has appeared on all sorts of talk shows and authored a couple of books, as well, so he’s proven capable of communicating with people and handling the spotlight with little trouble. Now, as John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, explained on the White House Blog , “Howard will have regular access to the President and serve as a key member of his National Security Staff. He will also work closely with his economic team to ensure that our cybersecurity efforts keep the Nation secure and prosperous.” And Schmidt looks ready to take his duties very seriously. In a video introduction (also posted on the White House Blog and available for download), he characterized online threats as “one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation.” Let’s hope some helpful measures will be introduced as a result of this development.

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White House Cybersecurity Czar Named

Small business owners need to do more to ensure the safety of their employees, intellectual property and customer data, according to the 2009 National Small Business Cybersecurity Study. Small Businesses Need To Improve Cybersecurity The study was co-sponsored by the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and Symantec and surveyed nearly 1,500 small business owners in the United States about their cybersecurity policies. Only 28 percent of U.S. small businesses have formal Internet security policies and just 35 percent provide any training to employees about Internet safety and security. At the same time, 86 percent of these firms do not have anyone solely focused on information technology security. For those small businesses that do provide cybersecurity training, 63 percent provide less than 5 hours per year. The study found that while more than 9 in 10 small businesses said they believe they are safe from malware and viruses based on security practices they have in place, only 53 percent of firms check their computers on a weekly basis to ensure that anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewalls and operating systems are up-to-date and 11 percent never check them. “The 20 million small businesses in the U.S. are a critical part of the nation’s economy. While small business owners may understandably be focused on growing their business and the bottom line, it is imperative to understand that a cybersecurity incident can be disruptive and expensive,” said NCSA Executive Director Michael Kaiser. “To the millions of very savvy entrepreneurs across our nation, our message is simple - being smart about the online safety of your employees, business and customers is a critical part of doing business. Cybersecurity is not a nice thing to have for American businesses, it is critical to their survival.”

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Small Businesses Need To Improve Cybersecurity

The average attempted click fraud rate fell from 22.9 percent in Q2 to 18.6 percent in Q3, a decrease of almost 19 percent, according to a new report from Anchor Intelligence. Average Click Fraud Rate Dips In Q3 Countries with the highest attempted click fraud rates were Vietnam (30.2%), Egypt (29.6%) and Indonesia (25.5%). The majority of this traffic was the result of large-scale, coordinated click fraud rings and high velocity botnet traffic. The U.S. and Canada continued to show high attempted click fraud rates at 21.2 percent and 20.8 percent respectively, which is noteworthy since these countries account for the greater part of overall traffic volume. “While network level attempted click fraud rates have declined, the methods used to perpetrate click fraud have grown in sophistication and variety,” said Richard Sim, VP of Product Management and Marketing. “Advertisements have become an increasingly common infection vector for payloads like browser hijackers and other forms of malware. Ad networks and search engines should pay close attention to such threats as we enter the holiday season.” Based on Anchor’s analysis of data from its customers, the average invalid rate declined from 27.1 percent in Q2 to 23.2 percent in Q3. The Q3 invalid rate was made up of an 18.6 percent average attempted click fraud rate and a 4.6 percent other invalid rate.

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Average Click Fraud Rate Dips In Q3

Many Americans still need to focus on securing online accounts and backing up critical data, according to a new study by the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and Symantec. Americans Lacking In Online Security The majority (85%) of Americans feel they are most responsible for keeping computers secure, and 40 percent feel that individual computer users are most responsible for keeping the entire Internet secure. Only 27 percent of Americans make an electronic backup of their critical files on a weekly basis. More than 55 percent backup their files less often than once a month. Couple those findings with the fact that the use of computers to store personal data such as photos (76%), music (60%), banking information (39%) and tax returns (30%) continues to rise, computer users risk significant losses of valuable information. Passwords are another area where computer users need to improve security. The study found that less than 25 percent of those polled change passwords quarterly and more than 50 percent of Americans never change them. In addition, 40 percent don’t use different passwords for their various online accounts. The NCSA recommends the use of long, complex passwords that include upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols. In addition to prevent hackers from accessing multiple accounts, computer users should have different passwords for every account and change passwords at least once every 90 days. “The fact that 85 percent of Americans believe they are most responsible for their own online security is a significant sign that awareness efforts are paying off and each one of us understands the important role we play in securing the Internet,” said NCSA Executive Director Michael Kaiser. “However, cybersecurity requires vigilance, maintenance and contingency planning every day of the year. Complex passwords and backing up are critical. Americans are doing better; they need to do better still and integrate cybersecurity into their lives until it’s second nature.”

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Americans Lacking In Online Security