Cybersecurity professionals talk about keeping homes, workplaces safe

Cybersecurity professionals talk about keeping homes, workplaces safe

Kristi Bush of Spanish Fort began her career as a child abuse investigator and now speaks to various groups about the menace of social networking.

“The question isn’t ‘if’ but ‘when’ your children and mine will be impacted by inappropriate internet activity,” Bush said. “Children are naturally curious. Because of this, parents must restrict their children’s activities and set rules, just like we do at age 15 when they begin to drive a car. We don’t just say, ‘Here it is; enjoy yourself.’ We talk with them and teach them to be careful to protect themselves and others.”

Bush was one of two presenters at the Cyber Security for Houses of Worship conference sponsored by the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department, the Shelby County Law Enforcement Chaplains Association and the Shelby Baptist Association. The conference was held at New Hope Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Birmingham, on Aug. 25. According to the FBI, some 750,000 child predators are online, and therefore parents must be proactive with electronic devices, Bush said.

“Social media isn’t good or bad in and of itself,” Bush said. “It’s all in how it’s used. ‘Screen brave’ is used to describe a user taking on more boldness or even another identity online. Some of this leads to cyber-bullying and some, unfortunately, leads to even more terrible consequences.”

Bush said Facebook has popularized the term “friend,” but this is a misnomer.

“The predator can pretend to be a friend and lure unsuspecting children with affirmations such as ‘you’re cool and beautiful and fun.’ And sometimes the predator lures children with gifts,” she said.

Children easily ensnared

Bush showed a video recorded by law enforcement demonstrating how 12- and 13-year-old girls are ensnared with promises of friendship, and agree to clandestine meetings with strangers posing as friends.

She said both iPhones and Android smartphones have settings for restrictions and entering codes only the parents should have, and the iPhone allows parents to search unseen items with key words like “hidden,” “private photos,” “photo vault” and “secret.”

Proactive parents can stop children from making decisions that will haunt them for years, she said.

“A child can be labeled a sexual offender no matter their age if they take or send inappropriate pictures. Depending on the judge, this can remain on their record for 15 years or 25 years or life. Think of how 25 years can impact a teenager: no scholarships, no military service and maybe no job since social media is the new resumé. We’re all ‘young and dumb’ as we grow up, but now there’s a much larger and more public platform for dumb things.”

Bush advises young people to remember the phrase “3-2-1-Stop” before posting anything online since what they post can come back to hurt them years later.

Cybercrime is costly

Reed Warner, cybersecurity team leader for a Birmingham insurance company and a certified intrusion analyst, spoke about internet security at home and at work.

“We had more than 300,000 cybercrime complaints in America in 2017, and it’s estimated that cybercrime will cost us $1.5 trillion this year,” he said.

Warner said malware is the umbrella term for software designed to steal personal information. The interconnectedness of home electronics makes users more vulnerable to security threats, which is reason for caution. Not opening unsolicited emails and attachments is one precaution people can take, Warner said. Backing up important data to cloud storage or to an external storage device is another.

Warner also urges people not to use old passwords again and suggests using a pass phrase instead of a password.

“For example, ‘orange’ is a simple password, but a phrase such ‘I/like/to/eat/oranges/on/Monday’ is much better. And there are several good password storage apps available so we don’t have to remember them all,” he said.

Keith Brown, church and community ministries director for Shelby Association and a volunteer law enforcement chaplain, said he surveyed pastors about their safety needs and online security was one area of interest. He said the sponsoring organizations plan to continue offering safety events like this every six months.

For more information, contact Brown at 205-669-7858 or email keith@shelbybaptist.org.