Cybersecurity for American Families

Except for maybe a winning lottery ticket, what ought every American want to have these days?  Clear guidance as to how to protect themselves in the cybersphere. Fortunately, we now have a terrific, Duke-developed aid that everyone needs to read. It’s called “Cybersecurity for American Families: A 10-Step Data Security Guide for the People You Love” and it’s available for free online.

Prof. Stansbury

Some background: For the last several months, LENS’ own Shane Stansbury along with several others from the law school, including former Deputy Treasury Secretary Sarah Bloom Raskin, Lee Reiners, Sara Greene, Rochelle Newton, and Duke Law alumnus Kathleen Hamm have led an interdisciplinary group of students (including law student Matthew Phillips) on an incredibly important and timely project through Duke’s unique Bass Connections program.

The team, working with cyber experts around the country, spent several months studying ways in which cyber breaches and misappropriation of personal information can harm ordinary citizens.  One of their conclusions was that, given the increasing frequency of large data breaches and the sometimes intimidating task of protecting themselves from cyber-attacks, many ordinary Americans are suffering from what the team calls “breach fatigue” – a sense of indifference or helplessness after hearing of the latest data breach.

The team set out to do something about it, and what they came up with is truly outstanding.  They developed a resource that includes ten easy and actionable steps that any of us can take to protect ourselves from data misappropriation and online attacks.  The guide, which is a readily understandable booklet, has a corresponding website, complete with resources and videos that help make their advice accessible to anyone.  It should be widely shared!!!

I very highly recommend visiting the website and following their advice.  I know I will!