For this week's assignment I wrote an issue specific security policy regarding home network use.  Actually brainstorming items that should be permitted online, items that could be permitted with permission from an adult, and items that were always prohibited made me realize how many threat vectors there are out there.  My children are young, but they are starting to explore the internet in some positive ways, and some ways that just waste time.  I had not done a deliberate home network threat analysis before.  I think taking this systematic look at what threats could affect my family is a good start to keeping them safe in the cyber world.

This process may be a little easier for me due to being in the IT field.  I know how to set up strong technical controls to filter out a lot of the nonsense, review network activity, and check browsing history.  A lot of people probably do not secure their network as strong as it should be, but for the most part I would bet there is an adequate level of security.  Also, the scope of securing your home network is larger than this week's blog posting...maybe next week.  I wanted to fill this space with things every parent can control, the human education factor.

I think all parents should take an active role in what their kids are doing on-line.  That may seem like a boiler plate statement, but it probably isn't being done well enough.  There are so many avenues to share and search for information online these days that it is a constant effort to stay current with the technology.  By knowing where there kids are spending time online they can guess what information may be at risk.  This is easy for me, my kids are young and their online interests are simpler.  When they get a little bit older it becomes more difficult as it will be looked at as an invasion of privacy, and kids may even make attempts to cover their tracks.  I think if a child is young enough to live in my house then they are not mature enough to make responsible decisions online, so I will be doing some type of monitoring, and I suggest all parents do the same.

In closing I wanted to share this link: http://www.internetsafety101.org/agebasedguidlines.htm .  It is an excellent resource for parents to educate themselves on the subject of on-line safety.  It even approaches technical topics such as software configurations and monitoring, video game information, and mobile device options.  A really useful section of this website, age-based guidelines, focuses on what kids at specific ages are more apt to get into, and how you can make sure they are protected.  I really think this is something that everyone should at least read once, even if they think they are an expert.