Defending Your Digital Life: Cybersecurity Strategies for Military Families

Military families rely on electronic devices to help manage their lives. Whether it’s connecting with a deployed service member, staying in touch with friends from prior duty stations, attending virtual classes, working remotely, or even something simple like ordering groceries online, devices are constantly in use. Families connect using mobile phones, tablets, computers, smartwatches, security cameras, baby monitors, thermostats, smart TVs, and smart home voice assistants. All of these devices are connected to the internet. They can collect and share personal information, limited only by their privacy agreements. 

Devices Share More Than You Think

You might be surprised at how much personal data is shared through connected devices. It’s not just a person’s location, browsing history, and content preferences. Personal health and fitness data, payment information, facial recognition, and even audio conversations can also be tracked and exposed. This becomes a real problem when captured personal data is used to break into financial accounts, create new accounts, or to borrow money under the name of the compromised person without their immediate knowledge. This can cause financial and emotional distress. 

Hacking

There are numerous ways thieves attempt to obtain private personal information. Hacking accounts on the internet is one way. Once a thief captures a user’s login name and password to a website, they can try that same login name and password on all the other sites where the user has accounts. If that same login name and password are used for each site, the thief has easy access to every one of the user’s accounts, including financial accounts. 

Phishing

Another way to obtain personal information is through a process called “phishing”. This is a type of cybercrime where attackers impersonate legitimate organizations or individuals to deceive people into revealing sensitive information, such as passwords, credit card numbers, or personal details. This is often done through fraudulent emails, messages, or websites that appear trustworthy. A recent example of this has been a text message seemingly from a toll agency that threatens a person with large penalties if they don’t immediately pay an unpaid toll charge. The person getting this message doesn’t want to get charged large penalties, so they contact this business, which then attempts to obtain credit card or other personal information that they will fraudulently use. 

Digital Safety Measures

Below are ten proactive steps you can empower military families with today. 

1. Understand that each internet-connected digital device can share information. Limit the usage of them to include as little personal information as possible. 
2. Know that no government agency or legitimate business will contact you by phone, text, or email and demand immediate payment (especially with gift cards, cash, or electronic transfers made outside of your bank). Neither will they ask for personal information like your social security number or credit card information. 
3. Be suspicious if a text, email, or pop-up message occurs indicating that there is an immediate problem with an offer to fix it. Don’t click on any links or proceed with the proposed solution. Get someone who can be trusted to look at the issue and never give remote control of the computer to strangers.
4. Strong, unique passwords are needed on each of your devices and websites. A strong password consists of ten or more characters containing a combination of upper-case letters, lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols. It is easy to use the same password over and over so you can remember it, but if it is stolen, it can expose all of the accounts where it is used. If you don’t want to try to remember dozens or hundreds of passwords, obtain a secure password manager that can be installed on your phone, tablet, and computer. Some of these are free, while others charge a monthly or annual fee.
5. Enable two-factor authentication for logging in when available. Not only are your username and password needed for login, but a third form of identification is needed from your phone or other device. Even if your user ID and password are stolen, the thief won’t be able to access your account without this third piece of information. 
6. Don’t use public wi-fi networks at the coffee shop, library, or airport if you are going to access anything personal or financial. If you must use them, be sure to use a VPN (Virtual Private Network software), which can provide some online privacy. Some VPNs are free, and others charge a fee to secure your online activity.
7. Secure your social media accounts as much as they will permit. Limit your posting to only family and friends and not to anyone outside of that limited circle. Don’t list personal information like birthdates or addresses, which can be used as identification. Don’t announce when you will be away on vacation. Remember, even if you delete something from a social media account, it still exists somewhere on the web. Think before posting.
8. Don’t send confidential information over email or text messages. These services are not secure. Also, don’t accept messages or open attachments from people you don’t know. This is one of the favorite ways hackers get your information.
9. Check your credit reports periodically. Only use the free and secure website https://www.annualcreditreport.com. Currently, they allow checking as frequently as weekly. Look for unexpected activity or new accounts. Follow the instructions on the website to report anything that is incorrect.
10. Learn more about the evolving financial technology (FinTech) landscape, potential risks, and how financial professionals can help families stay secure when using financial technology. Attend the free webinar, FinTech: Navigating Regulations and Risks in Financial Counseling (https://oneop.org/learn/160102/). 

We live in an interconnected world. Our military families, like all other families, share personal information with family members and friends. By limiting what type of data is shared, military families can prevent cybercriminals from having an easy way to bring financial or emotional harm to them through the use of data obtained through the internet. 

References:

Reese, P. (2025, June). Protecting your online privacy. MONEYWI$E. https://fcs-hes.ca.uky.edu/files/moneywise_june_2025.pdf 

Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Module 1: Basic cybersecurity for personal computers and mobile devices. https://www.cisa.gov/audiences/high-risk-communities/projectupskill/module1

Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Module 2: protecting your accounts from compromise. https://www.cisa.gov/audiences/high-risk-communities/projectupskill/module2

Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Module 4: protecting your data in transit. https://www.cisa.gov/audiences/high-risk-communities/projectupskill/module4

DoD Online Identity Protection Guide (2021, March, Twelfth Edition) Identity awareness, protection and management guide. https://www.arcyber.army.mil/Portals/78/Documents/FactSheets/DoD-identity-protection-guide/DoD_IAPM_Guide_March_2021.pdf?ver=FDvB5WW2UB_vxPVQBJuVww%3d%3d

Justice.gov (2025, January 30). Protecting Yourself While Using The internet. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga/protecting-yourself-while-using-internet

U.S. Army Cyber Command. Cybersecurity: Information and tips on how to protect your important data. https://www.arcyber.army.mil/Resources/Cybersecurity-View-Page/Article/2059073/dod-online-identity-protection-guide/form/MG0AV3/

U.S. Army Cyber Command. Factsheet (2024, September 5). Phishing and spearphishing. https://www.arcyber.army.mil/Resources/Fact-Sheets/Article/2058996/phishing-and-spearphishing/

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