TED Talk Discussion: Everyday Cybercrime — and What You Can Do About It

How do you pick up a malicious online virus, the kind of malware that snoops on your data and taps your bank account? Often, it’s through simple things you do each day without thinking twice. James Lyne reminds us that it’s not only the NSA that’s watching us, but ever-more-sophisticated cyber criminals, who exploit both weak code and trusting human nature.

Useful Vocabulary

DDOS – Distributed Denial of Service (it stops websites from functioning correctly)
Trojan virus
Malicious code
Myth
Notoriety

Comprehension Questions

1. Do viruses only infect home PCs?
2. How many viruses will we see today?
3. How many websites will be infected today?
4. True or false, viruses only come from porn websites?
5. It costs as little as $10 per hour to hire cybercriminals?
6. Do cybercriminals provide techinical support?
7. How do you become infected with a virus?
8. Do people pay cybercriminals to run viruses on their computer?
9. And herein is the ______________ lesson of social media and mobile devices for all of us right now. Our friends, our families, and our _______________ can break our _________________ even when we do the right things.
10. What percentage of people have been to Starbucks?

Comprehension Answers

1. False, it can affect businesses, power stations and more.
2. 250,000.
3. 30,000.
4. False.
5. False, it is as little as $5.
6. True.
7. Spam emails, funnycats.exe, USB key.
8. Yes. (7:30 timestamp)
9. Greatest, colleagues, security.
10. 23%

Group Discussion

• How much privacy is being traded off convenience?
• What laws can be implemented to catch cyber criminals?
• What are good habits to use to keep yourself safe online?
• Do you feel people are truly aware of the dangers of cybercrime?
• What antivirus software do you use?
• Can you describe an experience where you couldn’t use your computer because of a virus? What was the outcome?