The use of Twitter by Donald Trump has prompted a hacker, WauchulaGhost, to point out security precautions to the President and also serve as an alert to any Twitter user. Many IB teachers use Twitter and post to IB-related hashtags # and follow @ postings relating to IB programmes.
Hashtags, official and unofficial, include:
#IBPYP #PYPinquiry #pypchat #PYPexhibition
#mypnextchapter #IBMYP #MYPchat #MYPSciences #mypphe
#IBDP #ibtraining #ibgeog #IBGlobalPolitics #ibpsychology
#IBprogrammes #IBcommunitystories #learnerprofile #InquiryBasedLearning #servicelearning #IBlearnerprofile #IBeducation #internationaleducation
IB teachers also follow postings from accounts such as IBO, schools and teachers:
Additional hashtags and accounts can be found through searching Twitter.
Two recent news articles point out strategies for making Twitter accounts more secure:
Twitter security tips that we can learn from the Trump administration (Washington Post, 27 January 2017) and
Hacker to Trump: Fix your security settings on Twitter (CNN tech, 24 January 2017)
These two articles emphasize precautions that IB teachers need to consider:
1. Use Twitter settings that require personal information to reset your password on your Twitter account. “… people who want their Twitter accounts to be more secure, including the president, should use the security setting that prompts you to type in your phone number or email in order to reset your password.” (CNN tech, 24 January 2017)
https://twitter.com/settings/security
2. Use an email address that is not related to the user’s name. “According to WauchulaGhost, once you have an email address for an account, the next step is gaining access to that email. Common tactics include malware, apps that guess multiple passwords at once, eventually forcing their way in, or using known information about a person to trick them into sharing their password” (CNN tech, 24 January 2017) also known as ‘social engineering’. Once a hacker figures out the user’s email account and password, he has access to the Twitter account.
3. Additional security – Use two-way identification to login. This means not only using a password to access a Twitter account, but also needing to enter a code that is sent in text to a mobile phone. The code is retyped into Twitter and the user is cautioned to never reply to these messages.
Advice: review Twitter settings, the email account that is used for social media accounts and the password so that they are not easily accessible to hacking attempts.