Worried you’re in a re-data-ship? Here are the top 10 rules to follow to protect your online security.

Recent research of ours revealed that nearly half (45%) of the people surveyed have been in a ‘re-data-ship’, where they have shared passwords and PINs with a boyfriend or girlfriend.

We’re warning people against sharing personal information as it can lead to big problems, such as their accounts being hacked or even money being stolen, later in life.

To halt the rise of these ‘re-data-ships’, which seems to be a growing trend, we’ve worked with our very own top security experts to create a guide for you on how to keep personal data safe.

1. Do not have ‘re-data-ships’ — where you share personal data with friends or partners. Relationships can be short, but personal information can last forever
2. Stay away from using your favourite musician or athlete’s name as your password — as well as your birthday, pet’s name etc.
3. Have different passwords for each site
4. Use a complex password alongside a password manager tool
5. Change your passwords regularly — at least twice a year is recommended
6. Have a sentence as your password, but one that would make sense and be memorable to you
7. Don’t write passwords down, keep them in your memory
8. Enable Touch ID when you can, so only your fingerprint can access your passwords, or allow two-step verification where possible
9. Use a long password that’s more than 10 characters and a mix of lower and upper case, numbers, letters and symbols
10. Do not save your password to a browser as, if someone has access to your computer, then they have access to all of your passwords

Creator of Cyber Discovery and cyber security expert, James Lyne, said,

“Young people are taught about things like ‘stranger danger’ from a young age, but often we concentrate so much on our ‘enemies’ that we forget to think about our friends and partners, particularly when it comes to staying safe online. Friendships and relationships constantly change throughout a lifetime, but those that start at a young age can be particularly susceptible to bad break-ups and fallings out. We need to teach young people about the importance of protecting their personal data and the risk of ‘re-data-ships’, as it will lead to greater protection later in life.

Cyber security is a growing industry and it’s estimated that by 2022 there will be a shortage of 1.8 million cyber security professionals — which provides a massive opportunity for young people to get ahead in this remarkable and exciting career. It’s why we’re teaching young people the skills now, so they understand the dangers of sharing personal data, and to hopefully encourage them to pursue a cyber security career in the future.”

Interested in our programmes? Check out where you can build your cyber security knowledge for free!

UK 13–18-year-old student programme: Cyber Discovery https://cyberdisc.io/medium