Guarding Your Privacy

On this page:
Your Kerberos ID at MIT
Identity Theft
Preventing Identity Theft

Guarding the privacy of your online identity is critical for both your personal life as well as for your life at MIT. A protected MIT identity allows you to access authorized information on the MIT network and ensures that your access privileges are not abused by others.

In your personal life, your passwords, online banking transactions, and online purchases also depend on keeping your personal information private and protected. There are simple and effective ways to protect the security and privacy of your online identity and passwords.

Your Kerberos ID at MIT

Never share your MIT Kerberos ID or password combination with anyone. NOT EVER, including your friends, co-workers, or even your MIT supervisor. Your MIT identity (the first part of your MIT email account (e.g. janedoe@mit.edu) and your Kerberos password grant you access to various online applications provided by MIT, some of them containing personal information that identity thieves could use to commit fraud or other crimes.

Never use your MIT ID and password combination for any accounts outside MIT. For instance, as your account identification on a commercial site, or as credentials for online banking.

Identity Theft

Identity theft is on the rise. If an email ever asks you to respond with your password or other personally identifying information, it is an indication of a fraudulent message. MIT will NEVER request this type of information in an email.

What information can thieves use to commit identity theft?

• Name and address
• Social Security Number
• Credit card or bank account numbers
• Passwords

How do they do it?

• Stealing - wallets, purses, computers, mobile devices, checks or credit offers/statements sent in the mail
• Dumpster diving - to find discarded paper files, cds, floppy drives, etc
• Phishing/spam - fraudulent emails
• Social engineering - gaining your confidence in person, on the phone, online, postal mail, or through email to extract personal information
• Shoulder surfing - viewing your log on activities in public spaces
• Hacking - password guessing, tricking you to download malware, spyware or other software to access information on your computer

Preventing Identity Theft

Prevention is the best defense. See this site for resources on protecting your personal information.