Secure Cyberspace

Level 1 - Get Acquainted with the topic

First of all, have a look at this - LINK. It will give you some background information.
Watch these TedEx videos and think about how they apply to our lives today.

Think about and consider what you heard

What can you do to keep yourself and information secure online?
How can you educate others to do the same?
Why is it important to be secure online?
What devices do you use that can be hacked?
How do viruses and malware gain access to your computer?

Level 2 - Digging Deeper into the topic

Interested in being secure online? Here are some great tools you can use to be secure while online.

VPN: Virtual private network

Here is an image which illustrates how a VPN works.

Free VPN services:
https://www.betternet.co/
http://justfreevpn.com/

Paid VPN:
https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/

What is a VPN? A VPN (Virtual Private Network) is a method used to ensure privacy and security to private and public networks that you are connected to such as WiFi Hotspots and the Internet. VPNs are most often used by companies and corporations to protect sensitive data. However, using a personal VPN is increasingly becoming more popular.

Your online privacy is increased with a VPN because your initial IP address is replaced with one from the VPN provider. You can appear to be located nearly anywhere in the world with a VPN connection. This method allows you to attain an IP address from any gateway city the VPN service provides. For instance, you may live in Salt Lake City, but connecting with a VPN, you can appear to live in the United Kingdom, New York, or any number of gateway cities.

SSL: Secure sockets layer

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is a standard security protocol for establishing an encrypted link between a server and a client. It’s done most typically between a web server (website) and a an internet browser; or a mail server and a mail client (such as Outlook).

SSL encryption allows sensitive information such as credit card numbers, social security numbers, and login credentials to be transmitted securely. Normally, data sent between browsers and web servers is sent in plain text—leaving you vulnerable to eavesdropping and this information being stolen. If an attacker is able to intercept all data being sent between a browser and a web server they can see and use that information.

You can follow this link to check if the website you are on has an SSL:
https://www.sslshopper.com/ssl-checker.html?hostname

Here is an image which illustrates how SSL works.

Click on the image above for a short video about SSL encryption.

Internet abuse

Phishing scammers are getting very smart with their ability to disguise a fake website to appear real. For example, they will have a website such as this: http://paypal.com-international.info – most people won’t recognize the issue here as it clearly says paypal.com. However, this is not Paypals real website. This is a sub domain of the domain com-international.info -- com-international.info is the real domain name. They’ve created “paypal” as a sub domain so it appears to be real. Many fall victim to noticing this delusion and enter their bank account information to a fake website.

http://whois.com/whois/ is a legitimate website that displays the domain name owner’s details, registrar, and some DNS records. For example, here is the WHOIS details of Facebook:
http://www.whois.com/whois/facebook.com

Level 3 - Get involved in the topic! Be secure online. share it with others.

"I am interested, but how do I get myself involved?"
Getting involved is always the hard part right? Let's get you linked with some sources that could help you! Check the links below and take a look at the websites, also click on the pictures below and get to know some of the best at their Universities here in Utah. Find a project you are interested in? Great! Take a dive into it!

Do you think you understand cyber security well enough to do something about? Here are some activities you can do to make yourself secure and warn others of dangers online.

Connect Your devices to a VPN

Download the tor web browser

Free VPN services:
https://www.betternet.co/
http://justfreevpn.com/

Paid VPN:
https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/

https://www.torproject.org/projects/torbrowser.html.en

"Tor is free software and an open network that helps you defend against traffic analysis, a form of network surveillance that threatens personal freedom and privacy, confidential business activities and relationships, and state security." - torproject.org

Verify the websites you use most
have an ssl

Search the internet for abusive content

https://www.sslshopper.com/ssl-checker.html?hostname

Search the internet for phishing and other malicious websites. Find the owner of the domain from the WHOIS details and report them to the registrar of the domain.

http://whois.com/whois/