Digital Safety | Staying Safe Online

You will find on this page how to navigate campus life safely by protecting your digital footprint, physical safety, and mental well-being by recognizing possible online threats and how to report any potential threats to safety.

Why is this important?

Digital safety is about protecting yourself, your information, and your future. What you share online can affect your privacy, reputation, finances, personal relationships, and physical safety. Understanding how to recognize scams, protect personal information, and respond to online threats can help you avoid becoming a victim of fraud, harassment, identity theft, or exploitation.

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Digital Footprint

A digital footprint is a trail of unique data that you leave behind when visiting online sites. This could include any online stores you visit, social media apps, or even the online browser. Your online behavior, interaction, and your habits are recorded, and it consistently gets bigger as it generates more information about you and the data that you share.

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What should students do to protect their digital footprint?

Remove payment details saved on accounts, get rid of any old accounts, including social media platforms/apps that you no longer use. Also, review your privacy settings and restrict unnecessary permissions. Updates on cell phones can possibly change your settings too. Review settings after any updates are completed.

Social Engineering Awareness

Social engineering exploits human behavior to manipulate individuals into divulging sensitive or confidential information, leading to security breaches, data theft, and financial losses.

Some of the common types of social engineering attacks include:

• Phishing Attacks: Emails, messages, or calls designed to trick users into revealing sensitive information.
• Baiting: Use of physical media or enticing offers to lure users into compromising security.
• Pretexting: Creating false scenarios to manipulate users into sharing information.
• Diversion Theft: Persuading individuals to redirect deliveries or sensitive items to unauthorized locations.
• Watering Hole Attacks: Compromising trusted websites to deliver malware to visitors.
• Quid Pro Quo Attacks: Offering something in exchange for sensitive information.
• Tailgating: Gaining unauthorized access to restricted areas by following authorized personnel.

What can you do to mitigate social engineering risks:

• Verify the identity of individuals requesting sensitive information or access.
• Avoid clicking on links or opening attachments from unknown or unverified sources.
• Report suspicious emails, calls, or activities to LSU Health Shreveport (LSUHS) ITG.
• Dispose of sensitive documents securely using shredders or designated bins.
• Maintain a clean workspace to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive information.
• Avoid sharing LSUHS credentials, such as usernames and passwords, with anyone.
• If suspicious storage media (e.g., USB drives, CDs) are found, do not insert them into any device. Instead, report them to the LSUHS ITG Help Desk.

Suspected social engineering attacks or other internet risks must be reported immediately to:

• LSUHS Information Technology Group Help Desk: 675-6506 or SHVHELP@lsuhs.edu
• LSUHS Information Technology Security at SHV-IT-Security@lsuhs.edu

Recognizing Potential Online Threats

Deepfakes & AI Threats

Deepfakes are synthetic images, videos, or audio recordings created or altered using artificial intelligence to falsely depict a person's appearance, speech, or actions. Deepfakes may be used to spread misinformation, impersonate individuals, harass others, or create panic regarding emergencies. You can spot the glitches by looking closely for unnatural facial physics, delayed audio syncing, unusual lighting reflections on glasses, inconsistent skin textures, and other irregularities.

Cyberbullying

Online harassment often happens on anonymous communication apps, forums, and class group chats. If this happens to you, then you should document everything immediately by taking screenshots of abusive posts, comments, or threads. Avoid engaging or retaliating, as responding often escalates the abusive behavior.

Cyberstalking

When the internet, email, or other digital means are used to harass, stalk, or threaten someone causing them to fear for their safety or suffer emotional distress.  

Digital Identity Theft & Impersonation

• Account Takeovers: Hackers use stolen credentials to access university portals, changing direct deposit information for financial aid.
• Catfishing & Sextortion: Scammers use fake profiles to trick individuals into sharing intimate photos, then blackmail them under threat of exposing the images to family, friends, or the broader public.
• Social Media Clones: Bad actors copy an individual’s public photos and profile details to create a duplicate account used to scam their friends, family, or followers for money.

Online Threats to Campus Safety – What to do Next?

• Take it Seriously: Treat digital threats—including vague warnings on  social media, online forums, group chats, or anonymous messaging platforms—as real.
• Report Immediately: Any online post, message, image, video, email, social media content, or communication that threatens violence, references weapons, suggests self-harm, threatens members of the campus community, or otherwise raises concerns for campus safety should be reported immediately to UPD at 318-675-6165. If there is an imminent threat, call 911.
• Flag Intimidation: Use the LSU Shield App or EthicsPoint to report anonymous digital intimidation targeting specific student groups.
• Stay Alert: Be sure your information is current in the OnSolve app so you can receive real-time campus alerts. Use the LSU Shield App to submit incidents. If a life-threatening event is occurring, please get to a safe place and contact 911 or UPD directly at 318-675-6165.

Additional Steps to Secure Your Digital Campus Life

• Lock Accounts: Protect your portal logins and university email using strong passwords and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).
• Use VPNs: Avoid accessing personal banking or sensitive data on campus-wide public Wi-Fi without a secure VPN.
• Physical Safety: Lock your laptop and phone screens every time you leave your desk at the library or dining facilities.
• Spot Scams: Watch out for phishing emails disguised as urgent messages about financial aid, tuition, or employment scams.
• Complete the Mandatory ITG Trainings: IT provides training on the most current threats, keeping the LSUHS community aware of potential threats.