In celebration of GenCyber 2016 at CalState University San Bernardino, we’re republishing last year’s articles from GenCyber. Enjoy! 

#Selfie with the Department of Homeland Security

By Leah P

Princess Young, of the National Awareness Programs, Cybersecurity & Communications at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in Washington D.C. taught us to stay safe and be aware of what we say and do online. As participants, we played an advanced game of telephone, where girls were grouped into three sets. The point of the exercise was to show us how when a person types a caption or a comment onto social media, or sends an email to a friend, it could come out completely different.

We also learned how strangers can get ahold of our information online by collecting facts we ourselves have posted to social media and websites. For example, posting too many “selfies” along with personal information, like your name, city or school, can lead to many bad things; your computer could be hacked, your identity stolen, or your most important files could be lost all because you weren’t using safe practices online.

  This article was originally published in Food For Thought Magazine, Fall 2015