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Cyber Security -- Online Safety for Kids

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Online Safety for Kids – Cyber Ethics, Cyber Security and Cyber Safety

As a technology professional and parent, online safely for kids is always at the forefront of my mind.  After all, today's school aged children are part of the 'digital native' generation whereby computers, online communities, etc. are part of the backbone of their daily lives.  My own kids, who are 4, 4  (twins) and 6, actually spend some time online so I don’t think there is an age when it is too early to start having these discussions.

So, when one of DynTek's key partners, McAfee, briefed me on their Online Safety and Security program that offers free training and resources to help keep kids safe online, it really caught my interest.  I decided to participate and volunteered to provide training sessions at schools near my home in Orange County, California.  

The program is simple really (once you overcome fears about speaking in front of a large group of kids).

  1. Find a school that is interested
  2. Schedule some time to go out and speak
  3. Speak!

Straightaway, I discovered that there was a tremendous amount of interest in the schools for someone to come in and talk to students about online safety. My first training session was with the 5th and 6th grade classes at an elementary school in Bellflower, California.  

So what did we discuss?

After a brief introduction on the program, I launched into the three Cs:

  1. Cyber Ethics: Be responsible – Treat online as you would like to be treated
  2. Cyber Security: Protect your computer, mobiledevices and gaming consoles, as well as any other internet connected devices
  3. Cyber Safety: Be responsible when using the internet

Every kid loves a movie, so I showed a short video that featured three students talking about online experiences where they made some wrong choices.  We had an interactive discussion that enabled the kids to discuss their impressions and ask questions.

Next, we talked about the concept of Stop – Think – Connect

Stop:  Why do they tell us to stop? Because we need to understand that there are dangers and risks with going online. We need to know how make good decisions about what we share online, what we do online and how to spot and avoid potential problems.

  • Think: THINK about some of the things you can do to protect yourself and the computer while you are online.
  • Keep your password private (don’t share with anyone but mom and dad).
  • Don’t communicate with people you don’t know or open email from people you don’t know.  (Define friend – someone you’ve met, know and trust) 
  • Keep personal information private. (Define personal information – name, telephone number, birthday, address)
  • Don’t post photos or videos that could reveal too much information about myself.
  • Ask before visiting websites, clicking on links, downloading anything (games, music, videos, pictures, software updates)
  • Avoid clicking on ads
  • Ask mom & dad if the computer security software is up to date
  • Ask a trusted adult (mom, dad, teacher, school officer) if you think something is wrong or you feel uncomfortable about something that has happened

Connect - Then – if I’m sure I’m safe – I can CONNECT.  That is – go online.

We covered topics and issues that kids are facing online in their daily lives such as cyberbullying, bad websites, viruses, spam, scams etc.   We also discussed the dangers of divulging personal information and passwords, including social security numbers, birthdates, mailing addresses, parent’s information, age, schools, where you go after school, and much more. We put a lot of emphasis on never sharing passwords, (something I wish adults would think more about as well).

I truly valued the experience I had working with kids on this critical subject of online safety.  More importantly, the kids valued it – they were engaged and interested…and now, armed with the knowledge to be better protected.  I have more sessions booked with other schools and look forward to future education sessions – I’m learning so much about our future technologists!

If you are interested in learning more about the McAfee program, please contact me at brian.gancherov@dyntek.com or visit McAfee's Online Safety Education Page.