Friday, May 9, 2025
HomeCyber CrimeThe Most Common Types of Cybercrime on Campus and How to Avoid...

The Most Common Types of Cybercrime on Campus and How to Avoid Them

Published on

SIEM as a Service

Follow Us on Google News

As a college student, you probably have some personal information stored in your computer or laptop, your smartphone, other devices, in your wallet, and in your dorm room. It’s essential to make sure that this information is well-protected from thieves who may steal your devices and personal information. If it falls into the wrong hands, your personal information could be used to commit crimes in your name, borrow money and affect your credit score, and turn your college life and life after graduation into a nightmare.

You can never be too careful when it comes to cybersecurity as a college student. Here are some common threats on college campuses, and what you can do to protect yourself.

Hacking Through Campus Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi that’s available all over campus is essential for colleges today. Students use it on a daily basis to stay connected to each other, professors, friends, and family, along with research and other educational resources. However, campus Wi-Fi isn’t typically any more secure than other public Wi-Fi, leaving whoever’s using it vulnerable to malware attacks, identity theft and more.

- Advertisement - Google News

The best ways to protect yourself when using campus Wi-Fi include:

  • Use a VPN to encrypt the connection between your device and any sites you visit
  • Confirm the network before you connect to ensure it’s a legitimate campus network
  • Use complex passwords that are more difficult to guess and track
  • Make sure your firewall is switched on
  • Use strong anti-virus software and keep it up to date

Keylogging in Communal Workstations

Communal workstations and computer labs can be risky. Keylogging, which uses a shadowing device to record keystrokes, allows cyber criminals to steal passwords and gain access to software and other personal information. And, working at a communal workstation may expose you to infected files or software.

If you need to use a communal computer, you should avoid inputting any sensitive information, or visiting any sites that seem suspicious. Use communal computers for things like essay writing or research, and your personal laptop for things like online banking or checking your emails.

Phishing Emails

Make sure that you verify any emails coming from what appears to be a trusted source if they are asking you to reply with sensitive information, such as passwords or user names. Whether you receive an email that appears to be from campus or from an online service you’re using like EssaysWriting.org, if you’re asked to provide anything sensitive, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

Theft

Finally, theft is one of the most common types of crime on college campuses. You can never be too careful; don’t leave your bags in the library when you get up to use the bathroom, or leave your dorm room unlocked when visiting a friend down the hall. It only takes a couple of seconds for a thief to take your devices – and the information on them.

Be vigilant and make sure to:

  • Keep your dorm room locked
  • Avoid leaving valuables in your car
  • Avoid leaving your bags unattended in communal spaces
  • Install laptop and smartphone tracking software
  • Backup your files on a remote hard drive or in the cloud

Hopefully these tips will help you to stay safe on campus!

Balaji
Balaji
BALAJI is an Ex-Security Researcher (Threat Research Labs) at Comodo Cybersecurity. Editor-in-Chief & Co-Founder - Cyber Security News & GBHackers On Security.

Latest articles

Hackers Exploit Host Header Injection to Breach Web Applications

Cybersecurity researchers have reported a significant rise in web breaches triggered by a lesser-known...

Hackers Exploit Windows Remote Management to Evade Detection in AD Networks

A new wave of cyberattacks is targeting Active Directory (AD) environments by abusing Windows...

Researchers Uncover Remote Code Execution Flaw in macOS – CVE-2024-44236

Security researchers Nikolai Skliarenko and Yazhi Wang of Trend Micro’s Research Team have disclosed...

Apache ActiveMQ Vulnerability Allows Attackers to Induce DoS Condition

Critical vulnerability in Apache ActiveMQ (CVE-2024-XXXX) exposes brokers to denial-of-service (DoS) attacks by allowing...

Resilience at Scale

Why Application Security is Non-Negotiable

The resilience of your digital infrastructure directly impacts your ability to scale. And yet, application security remains a critical weak link for most organizations.

Application Security is no longer just a defensive play—it’s the cornerstone of cyber resilience and sustainable growth. In this webinar, Karthik Krishnamoorthy (CTO of Indusface) and Phani Deepak Akella (VP of Marketing – Indusface), will share how AI-powered application security can help organizations build resilience by

Discussion points


Protecting at internet scale using AI and behavioral-based DDoS & bot mitigation.
Autonomously discovering external assets and remediating vulnerabilities within 72 hours, enabling secure, confident scaling.
Ensuring 100% application availability through platforms architected for failure resilience.
Eliminating silos with real-time correlation between attack surface and active threats for rapid, accurate mitigation

More like this

FBI Alerts Public to Scammers Posing as IC3 Officials in Fraud Scheme

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has issued a warning regarding an emerging scam...

Defending Against Web API Exploitation With Modern Detection Strategies

In today's interconnected digital landscape, APIs serve as the critical building blocks of modern...

Authorities Shut Down Four Encrypted Platforms Used by Cybercriminals

Law enforcement authorities across Europe and Türkiye have dealt a major blow to four...