The new school year is here. If cybersafety is not on your “back to school” checklist, it should be. SecureWorld offered up a list of resources to help parents have a meaningful conversation about “cyber-safety” with their children. Parents need to talk with their kids about what they can do to protect themselves from the threats that are lurking online.
There are a variety of resources available that can help parents teach their children about the importance of Internet safety and privacy. Here are some recommended in the article.
In 2009, President Obama asked the Department of Homeland Security to create the Stop.Think.Connect. Campaign to help Americans understand the dangers that come with being online. The program stresses that cybersecurity is a shared responsibility. Parents can download a Cybersecurity for Kids tip card (PDF) that offers helpful hints and advice designed specifically for children.
ConnectSafely.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating users of connected technology about safety, privacy and security. The website offers a number of Parent Guides, written by parents for parents, including:
- A Parents’ Guide to Student Data Privacy,
- A Parents’ Guide to Mobile Phones and
- A Parents’ Guide to Cyberbullying.
The National Cybersecurity Alliance is an industry-led group, founded by the likes of Symantec (SYMC), Cisco (CSCO), Microsoft (MSFT), and EMC (EMC), whose mission is to educate and therefore empower a digital society to use (rb- their products) the Internet safely and securely at home, work and school.
Parents and teachers can download tips and resources from their website StaySafeOnline.org. The tip sheets are created specifically for different age groups ranging from kindergarten to college students. This site offers resources like:
Free Security Check-Up and Tools – Which has download locations for tools from A to W – Avast to Webroot. (as always use at your own risk).
Tip Sheets for:
The author states that industry professionals are also placing a high priority on preparing children for life in cyberspace. For instance, the (ISC)2 Foundation’s Safe and Secure Online program was introduced in 2006 in conjunction with Childnet International. They offer resources for parents which include Top 10 Tips for Parents (PDF) and the Parent-Child Commitment to Safety Agreement (PDF).
The Business Insider polled and a bunch of industry cyber security experts about what they teach their kids about the internet. The experts working in the field recommend you:
- Start discussing online safety at an early age.
- If you wouldn’t do it face to face – Don’t do it online.
- Once you’ve written something you can’t delete it.
- Not just to tell them the rules but also to spend the time/
You can read the rest of the tips at Business Insider here.
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Good luck, you will need it.
Talk to your students about cyber safety – Staysafe.org’s guide on Internet Safety for Teens: https://www.staysafe.org/
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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.
