March 12, 2019
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Tip of the Week: What is "Cyber-Flashing" (using iPhone/Mac AirDrop)? How can you Protect Yourself?
Today I wanted to talk about a disturbing trend called "Cyber-Flashing". "Cyber flashing is a crime which involves sending obscene pictures to strangers through AirDrop"(Wikipedia).PLEASE WATCH THIS VIDEO ON HOW YOU CAN PROTECT YOURSELF FROM CYBER FLASHING!
AirDrop is a feature used on Apple's iPhone (running iOS 7 and later) and Mac (running macOS 10.7 or greater). This feature allows files to be transferred over Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Most people are not aware of this feature, or may not pay attention to the settings of AirDrop. If AirDrop is set to "Everyone", then anyone roughly 30 feet in proximity, can "AirDrop" you a photo or file (and one that you may not want to see). You will be prompted to "accept or deny" the AirDrop, but you will still see the preview of the image no matter what.
There are many challenges with identifying the perpetrators of Cyber-Flashing. The name given to the iPhone is what will show when the picture is AirDropped (and people can make up inappropriate names, or fake names). In school, AirDrop can be done over Bluetooth (using their own LTE or 3G network) which removes them from using the school wireless network and makes it very difficult to trace who sent the picture. Make sure you keep your AirDrop set to "Off" or "Contacts Only".
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