Digital Safety for the new decade

Dr Vicki Madden, Digital Safety Support Officer

It's the start of a brand new decade in the Digital Age: a perfect time to bring yourself up to speed on digital safety and citizenship. How we behave in virtual spaces shouldn't differ from how we behave in physical spaces. In both cases, it's important to treat one another with dignity and respect.

While digital engagement packs real potential for creating meaningful dialogue, it's important to take measures to protect yourself from the myriad of risks that come hand-in-hand with an increasingly interconnected world. With this in mind, here are some digital safety resolutions to keep you safe and healthy in 2020:

1. Clean up your digital footprint - Our last newsletter highlighted the importance of your digital footprint (the tracks and traces your digital activities have left online) when it comes to both personal and professional reputation. It's worth taking a moment to Google yourself and see what comes up. If you like what you find, you're golden. If not, check out the University's Digital Footprint MOOC to see how your can enhance your online presence.
2. Think twice before you post - This one encompasses various sub-resolutions like 'Don't post a picture of your new flat keys on Instagram' and 'Don't post pictures where your address is clearly visible', since posts that reveal too much personal information can compromise your physical safety. 'Don't post when you're angry' is also a good rule of thumb. What you say in virtual spaces has consequences in the real world and once you commit something to the internet, it's there forever - even if you delete it later.
3. Unplug for a bit - In the age of hyper-connectivity, it can be tempting to have your phone out at all times. But 'always on' culture can be detrimental to both mental and physical wellbeing. Digital technology's blurring of the boundaries between home and work can lead to increased stress levels and exhaustion, and the negative consequences of social media on mental health have also been documented. If you have been feeling overwhelmed by what you're seeing on Twitter and Instagram, it's okay to power off and take a break from it all.

For more digital safety tips and resources, visit our new Digital Safety and Citizenship web pages.

information security: quick resolutions that are easy to keep

David Creighton-Offord, Senior Information Security Consultant

Every year we come up with New Year's Resolutions - and every year most of us shoot for the moon and choose something we bail out on, be that losing weight, a new hobby or mastering a skill. This year, why not try some quick and easy resolutions that will keep you safe over the year? To make things simple, I've scaled them based on the amount of effort for you:

1. Set up a login PIN for your devices - 5 minutes. This adds a layer of security for your device that can prevent others from gaining access to it.
2. Get set up with the University VPN service - 10 minutes. Using a VPN creates an encrypted link between you and the sites you visit. For University work, feel free to use the University's own VPN.
3. Update all of your software - 1-3 hours. Most cyber-attacks are against known vulnerabilities. By updating your software regularly, you can protect yourself against these attacks.
4. Install Anti-Virus protection on all (yes, all) of your devices - 1 hour research, a couple of hours per scan. This requires a bit of research to find the best fit for your device, and the willingness to regularly run scans. In return for that effort, you get a huge boost to your security, protecting you against known malware and (depending on the product) some unknown malware varieties.

Simple! Get these basics down and you'll be on the road to a safer, happier 2020. No dieting required.

The Information Security team run regular training courses on different Information Security topics as part of the Digital Skills Programme. Find and book onto the courses using the University's Event Booking system.

Copyright and media and licensing, oh my!

Lorna Campbell, Learning Technology Team Manager and Charlie Farley, OER Advisor

Are you confused by copyright? Muddled by media? Bewildered by licenses? Perplexed by open educational resources? Are you worried that the teaching resources you use might come back and bite you? If this sounds like you, why not make 2020 the year you put your fears behind you and get familiar with copyright and licensing?

Will It Bite Me? Copyright, media, licensing, and online teaching environments is a one-hour information session from the University's OER Service that runs as part of the Digital Skills Programme, and provides teaching staff with the information and tools you need to confidently use copyright and open licensed resources in different teaching environments, while adhering to relevant licenses and copyright protections. You will learn about:

• Closed teaching environments (e.g. Learn, Moodle, etc.) versus open teaching spaces (e.g. blogs, MOOCs, etc.), and find out about the different kinds of resources you can use in these spaces.
• Copyright and licensing in Higher Education, including copyright exceptions, Creative Commons licenses and the public domain.
• Subscriptions, databases, and services purchased by the University, allowing you to use books, chapters, papers, films, and other copyright resources in our closed teaching environments.
• Open Educational Resources (OER) - digital resources used in teaching and learning that have been released under a Creative Commons license so they can be reused and re-purposed by others.
• Attributing materials in online teaching environments.
• Searching for resources.

The University's OER Service provides advice and guidance on creating and using digital resources, and understanding copyright and open licensing. Get in touch with the OER Service through Open.Ed.