Cybersecurity Education

For Elderly People

Ask our chatbot!
A chatbot is an automated program that interacts with users through voice commands and text chats [1]. Our chatbot will answer your questions about cybersecurity and related topics.

What Do You Know About Cybersecurity?

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What is cybersecurity?

Cyber security is the practice of defending computers, servers, mobile devices, electronic systems, networks, and data from malicious attacks. It is also known as information technology security or electronic information security. [2]

The term applies in a variety of contexts, from business to mobile computing. A recent Parks Associates survey of more than 10,000 U.S. households shows that almost half of consumers describe themselves as "very concerned" about hackers getting control of the connected devices in their homes.

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Security Begins at (The Smart) Home

First, make sure you have a good sense of your vulnerability. How do the products and services you use to automate your life collect, manage, and store your data? How do the devices you use potentially share data when you are walking around environments that make up the IoT? [2]

Next, make sure the passwords for all your devices are unique and include a mix of letters, numbers, and other characters that are difficult to guess. Do not share passwords with others.
Most importantly, put the proper security tools in place to monitor your environment. Early intrusion detection has always been one of best ways to avoid the worst security incidents, and that remains true in the age of the IoT.

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More Tips to Avoid Attacks

1. Update your software and operating system: This means you benefit from the latest security patches.
2. Use anti-virus software. Keep your software updated for the best level of protection [3].

3. Do not open email attachments from unknown senders: These could be infected with malware.
4. Do not click on links in emails from unknown senders or unfamiliar websites: This is a common way that malware is spread.
5. Avoid using unsecured WiFi networks in public places: Unsecured networks leave you vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks.

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References

Cybersecurity and crime

Google Security Princess Parisa Tabriz and Jenny Martin from Symantec introduce the most common types of cybercrime, including viruses, malware, DDOS attacks and phishing scams.

Encryption and public keys

Mia Epner, who works on security for a US national intelligence agency, explains how cryptography allows for the secure transfer of data online, the concept of public and private keys.

IP address & Domain Name System

In this video the co-founder of the Internet Vint Cerf and software engineer Paola Mejia take us through the ins and outs, complexities of how networks talk to each other.


About Us

Website built for Fall 2020 BMCC Virtual Make-A-Thone for Social Good: Call for Code Challenge by @jahinbhuiyan & @oksanaweigandsuminski with HTML, CSS, Bootstrap, JavaScript, Three.js, IBM Watson Assistant, and Android Studio resources. Project mentor - Dr. Mohammad Azhar

Stay up-to-date on cybersecurity risks

Statement of Purpose

Motivation

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a dramatic loss of human life worldwide. The economic and social disruption caused by the pandemic is devastating [4]. However, fraud rises in times of crisis. Since the start of COVID-19, cybercrime has increased 400% [5]. According to the US census bureau, 20% of the population of the US will be in the age group of 65+ by the end of 2020. That is almost 18 million people who are potentially at risk of cyber attacks.

Consequences

Cybercrime has hit the U.S. so hard that every American citizen should expect that all of their data (personally identifiable info) has been stolen and is on the dark web (intentionally hidden and used to conceal and promote heinous activities). [6] Cybercrime, cyberattack, and cyberterrorism is intended to undermine electronic systems to cause panic, fear, and disruption. It could potentially disable the economy of a city, state or the entire country. [3]

Proposal

Ideally, tools like chatbot, quiz, an application and references to important sources of information on this website will help senior citizens to become aware of cybersecurity risks and put the proper security tools in place to monitor their IoT devices.
We intend to help elderly people to become familiar with terms and concepts of cybersecurity risks as well as get advisories on how to protect themselves from cybersecurity crimes.

Next

The next phase in our project is going to be training the chatbot: feeding it necessary information and mastering the precision of the chatbot's answers. Email subscription feature we'll be added to the website as well as few more quizzes will be created for different cybersecurity topics. Simultaneously, we'll be working on the development of our Cybersecurity Edu application for elderly people for Android devices on the Google Play.