I recently volunteered to teach an “intro to mobile security” class, in-person, at a local shul (Jewish prayer/study space) in my rural, aging community. I’m going to do one class for activists and one for the general public. I know I want to end with a list of privacy-friendly alternatives and habits, but I’m kinda stuck getting started. How do I introduce this topic, especially to older folks? Links, resources, personal thoughts welcome. Lmk if you don’t want to be credited.

@stopit@lemmy.ml
link
fedilink
4urte bat

Not to be a downer…but can one be private on a mobile device? I’m older (and if in your area, probably a target participant, sorry that I can’t actually help) but, my understanding is that mobile would be impossible to be private due to constant triangulation etc.

@radnek_36@lemmy.ml
creator
link
fedilink
2urte bat

Right, I’m definitely gonna cover that. There are ways to limit triangulation and the amount of data that can be collected, but you’re correct: the best mobile device security is not having one. The subtitle of the class is going to be, “a 101 for people who need phones,” so I will be working on the assumption that getting rid of the phone is not a viable precaution. (Also, my co-presenter is also an older person, so don’t sell yourself short!)

@loki@lemmy.ml
link
fedilink
5
edit-2
urte bat

For older people, a password manager is a must. With their ageing brain, it gets way harder to remember things. I got my my parents to use bitwarden, and now I don’t need to reset their passwords anymore. Cloud sync helps them use them on all their devices too.

Unlock the password manager with fingerprint and everything is safely stored. No need to remember password/PINs and codes.

@radnek_36@lemmy.ml
creator
link
fedilink
3urte bat

OK, yeah! I generally warn against biometrics and cloud storage for activists, but they’re probably a very good idea for older non-activists.

@gggggggggg@lemmy.ml
link
fedilink
3urte bat

I don’t have much experience with browsing on smartphones, but the basics (like using a (hopefully) privacy-friendly search engine, avoiding Facebook and the rest, deleting cookies, etc.) are worth mentioning. If they’re ~completely new to the Internet, it might be useful to mention things like email scams.

@Lunacy@lemmy.ml
link
fedilink
6
edit-2
urte bat

A good start would be ‘how to develop a threat model’. There are very useful guide about it like the one written by EFF.

Security planning helps you to identify what could happen to the things you value and determine from whom you need to protect them. When building a security plan answer these five questions:

  • What do I want to protect?
  • Who do I want to protect it from?
  • How bad are the consequences if I fail?
  • How likely is it that I will need to protect it?
  • How much trouble am I willing to go through to try to prevent potential consequences?

About Android’s security;

@Mylemmy@lemmy.ml
link
fedilink
2urte bat

Only problem is… They aren’t security planners.

Make the threat model for them with your experience as a baseline for them. Perhaps some of them will expand from there but make it easy for them

@stopit@lemmy.ml
link
fedilink
4urte bat

I’m taking a intro cyber security class at Helinski U mooc, and those questions are almost verbatim from our week one class! Guess i am learning correctly!

@radnek_36@lemmy.ml
creator
link
fedilink
5urte bat

I’d never heard of the EFF until now, what a great resource! They’ve got a whole section for educators

Threat model guide https://lemmy.ml/post/34223

Smartphone hardening guide https://lemmy.ml/post/54596

I hope this helps.

@radnek_36@lemmy.ml
creator
link
fedilink
0urte bat

Awesome, thank you!

Create a post

A place to discuss privacy and freedom in the digital world.

Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.

In this community everyone is welcome to post links and discuss topics related to privacy.

Some Rules

  • Posting a link to a website containing tracking isn’t great, if contents of the website are behind a paywall maybe copy them into the post
  • Don’t promote proprietary software
  • Try to keep things on topic
  • If you have a question, please try searching for previous discussions, maybe it has already been answered
  • Reposts are fine, but should have at least a couple of weeks in between so that the post can reach a new audience
  • Be nice :)

Related communities

Chat rooms

much thanks to @gary_host_laptop for the logo design :)

  • 0 users online
  • 2 users / day
  • 3 users / week
  • 31 users / month
  • 254 users / 6 months
  • 14 subscribers
  • 1.96K Posts
  • 8.76K Comments
  • Modlog