By Lucy Billington-Groom
First year Computer Security students at De Montfort University have shared their disbelief at the extent of information that was accessible about them on the internet.
Compiling social engineering reports on themselves, students were shocked to see how much information about their lives was shared online and have since taken steps to overhaul their online presence.
William Dilling, a Computer Security student, said: “With social media playing such a large role in our lives, it’s easy for people to overshare and not worry about who can view their posts.
“It’s common for social media users to think that everything they share stays between them and their online friends but this is simply untrue.
“Instagram is one of the worst for privacy because they declare on signing up that whatever you post they have the rights to do with as they please, this includes re-posting to third party websites.
“My advice to those who feel like they need to monitor what they post would be, be cautious, be aware of what you’re posting, use an alias on any social media you don’t intend to use seriously.
“Bad decisions when posting on social media could cost you a potential career. More and more organisations are searching their potential employees and basing decisions on their personal social media presence.”
