Spoofing

= Spoofing =



Dave Kellerman dkelle11@students.towson.edu Nadia Rupard nrupar1@students.towson.edu Adwoa Keambirorio akeamb1@students.towson.edu


 * Description:**

I have recently experienced email spoofing and I had no idea what was happening to me. My Yahoo account was jeopardized by a Phiser (sends spam to huge number of senders) who used my account to send everyone in my address book a link for purchasing pharmaceuticals in Canada. This did not happen once, but twice in the same week. I received a few phone calls and emails asking me why I sent them such strange emails. A week later Yahoo made me change my password before I could enter my email account. I was lucky but many others are not; spoofing can cause viruses, bounced emails, flame emails (abusive emails, related to online bullying), and a person's email accounts can be suspended or shut down.

Spoofing or spoofing attacking in lament terms is when a person or persons uses an innocent by-standard's information (email id or ip address) for their personal or professional use and profit. There are five types of spoofing, email spoofing (which I gave an example of in the previous paragraph), Internet Protocol spoofing, Caller ID spoofing, Phising (this is very similar to email spoofing, but more connected to spamming, it can affect a persons account but is usually just annoying junk mail), and Content spoofing. Content spoofing is an extremely dangerous form of spoofing where hackers can use a persons email address or other id to retrieve personal information to create online accounts (banking, porn, and other online purchasing). Spoofing is extremely harmful and can spread viruses, suspend accounts, and worst of all destroy a person's identity. People should take precautions, such as, not using the same passwords for every account and changing often, and being aware of shady websites, as well as only giving information to reliable and secure sites. Spoofing is important for students to know so they are safe when using the internet.

The impact of Spoofing on K-12 schools can be very severe. Spoofing can cause viruses and potentially crash networks. Schools are at danger with this issue because computers in schools are all connected by the same network. Therefore, if one computer catches a virus due to spoofing, then all of the computers in the school could be put at risk. Once the computers are corrupt, they could possibly require repairs or even replacement. These types of services are quite costly and affect the school financially. Not only would finances be affected but important files may be lost or deleted in this case, and then jeopardize the school's performance. Spoofing impacts students majorly when it comes to email accounts, students can hack into other students accounts and use that person's email to send mean and abusive emails, potentially ruining a students reputation. Students can do the same to teacher's accounts possibly ruining their career. In a society where everyone is connected, students, parents, and educators must be fully aware of internet dangers so they can be safe.
 * What is the impact of this issue on K-12 schools, educators, and students?**
 * Integrating this topic into Daily Instruction:**


 * PreK-K**

I would bring up the idea of spoofing along with talking to strangers. Part of a Kindergartner's curriculum is safety. They need to learn about things that they wouldn't normally think about on their own. Along with talking to strangers, and fire safety, internet spoofing could be a good topic to talk about. It is important to be safe on the internet and this would be useful at a young age. The topic could be introduced in a "safety week" setting. Everyday during the week, discussions could be had on a variety of topics; internet/computer safety could be one of them.


 * Grades 1-3**

Spoofing could be integrated into grades 1-3 by teaching students how important it is to be safe on the internet. In today's generation, more and more children are using the internet at very young ages. In grades 1-3, most children are just beginning to be introduced to the internet and familiarizing themselves. Internet safety is important to teach at a young age, since this society is becoming more and more dependent on the internet and technology.


 * Grades 3-5**

In grades 3-5, spoofing could be taught in a technology session or even by a librarian, referring to researching online. Students at this age are just starting to become informed about how to research information, and how to determine whether or not a site is reliable or not. Spoofing could be an example of how computers can become corrupted or hacked into, causing viruses. When students are searching the web, they will encounter a variety of sources that cannot always be depended on. Students should be informed of the several possibilities and unsafe situations they could run into while on the internet.


 * Grades 5-8**

In grades 5-8 students are very active on the internet, but are still at a young and naive age where they are prone to spoofing. Teachers should have a class time where they discuss spoofing and the other dangers of the internet in a computer lab where teachers can show students examples of shady websites and how to create effective passwords to protect themselves from hackers. I would have an open discussion with the class where we could come up with different examples and real life experiences that we would write on the board. Game idea: Name Claim: The teacher secretly tells one student in the class to raise their hand during role call for every other students name. This will confuse the other students and after role is called the teacher can then explain that this is an example of spoofing, where on person or persons takes the identity of an innocent person. Constant discussion about internet safety is important in teaching students about spoofing and other dangers on the internet.


 * Grades 7-9**

Seeing is believing for young teenagers who think they have it all figured out. Teachers should find videos about real life examples of spoofing that they can show in the classroom. Teachers should discuss the importance of protecting your identity online by regularly changing passwords and not using the same one for each account. Also, teachers could have a person come in who is knowledgeable about the internet. In class students could collectively come up with their own meaning of spoofing and even do a couple of short skits on the topic. Having students actively participating and discussing internet safety creates fun and active learners who will remember more because they are involved.


 * Grades 9-12**

I would integrate the topic of spoofing within an introduction to the computer systems at the school orientation. I do not think that the entire student body would need to be reminded of internet safety or spoofing on a regular basis. Rather, when they get their school email addresses set up, the faculty can tell the students the dangers of spoofing and remind them to keep secure email accounts. Also, content spoofing could be talked about in a social studies classroom. Content spoofing is sometimes used as a form of protest, so it could be an interesting topic to discuss in social studies.

[|KIDS HEALTH]
 * Additional Links:**

This is a helpful site for parents and teachers, it talks about how to talk to children about internet safety. This site also talks about COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) that protects children when they are online from hackers, viruses, and shady websites. It also has links to other games and activities that teach about internet safety.


 * References:**

http://www.bbc.co.uk/webwise/guides/about-spoofing

http://www.wiredsafety.org/safety/email_safety/spoofing/index.html

http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/03/caller_id_spoof.html

http://www.consumerfraudreporting.org/spoofing.php