Protect your online accounts
- Using unique passwords for every account, so that hackers won't get acess to all your accounts if they crack one.
- Keeping software up to date, which helps to fix the latest exposed security weakness.
- Using anti-virus so that your keystroke won't be logged.
- Only use trusted devices to avoid potential nasty spyware.
- Setting up account recovery options so that you can recover your account instantly to protect it from being used by hackers.
For more information:
Security for mobile devices
- Backing up mobile devices regularly, you never know when a device will break, being lost or being stolen.
- Encrypting your devices, which protects important information from falling into others.
- Configuring "find my device" to help you find your devices back if they are lost or stolen.
- Configuring a remote-wipe capability to remote wipe it if it is lost or stolen.
- Check application permissions, do not give applications too many power to leak your important information.
For more information:
Security for mobile phones and tablets
Avoid phishing
- Just because an email comes from a university address, that doesn't make it legitimate
- Check directly with the company/team if an email is asking you to do something unusual
- Never send your password over email and always check/report any email that does
For more information:
There is more information available on our Tips for New Students page.
Encrypting devices and documents
- Find out if your device supports full disk encryption (android and iOS have done by default for a few years now)
- If it isn't active already, activate it. Contact your supplier for help with your make and operating system if you have to.
- Don't share your passwords/encryption keys
- Lock your device's screen whenever you leave your device
For more information:
Backup & Deletion
- Keep your backups up to date.
- Make sure you always have a copy of files you cherish on at least more than one storage device.
- Check regularly that your backups still work.
- Set up automatically backing up.
- Making sure the important information is deleted completely when you are disposing a computer or passing it to others.
For more information:
Remote working
- Only use computers that have been configured securely.
- Be careful about the unsecure networks.
- Try to use your work laptop or remote controlling your work computer.
For more information:
Phishing
- Just because an email comes from a university address, that doesn't make it legitimate
- Check directly with the company/team if an email is asking you to do something unusual
- Never send your password over email and always check/report any email that does
For more information:
Information Security Essentials course
If you are looking to learn more you can always start with the Information Security Webpages for advice and further reading. We also offer a course on LEARN that is mandatory for staff but also open to students.
Please see the training page for more information about training resources.
Digital Skills and Training
We have also worked with the Digital Skills team to roll out face to face sessions on key cybersecurity topics. If you are just starting to learn about cybersecurity and want to be safer online, the Internet Survival Guide is a great place to start.
National Cyber Security Centre
Here is a quick start guide from National Cyber Security Centre to help you find the right imformation about cyber security.
If you are the victim of a an information security attack: phishing, a computer virus infection, or even receive an email message that you think may leave other University members particularly vulnerable, report it to the IS Helpline:
You can send the suspicious email as an attachment to is.helpline@ed.ac.uk where it will be collated with other reports of the same attack (Sending the email as an attachment preserves the email headers and gives us a better chance of stopping any further attempts to propagate the email).
*Please do not send screenshots or forwarded copies of the email, as it will not give us this data.
If you have a more general Security Query, want to get in touch about some work you are doing for the university or have any feedback regarding the Information Security Webpages the email address for the team is:
If you are looking for some general advice so that you can be more proactive, a lot more great content can be found at: