Dehli: “At every lock, there is someone trying to pick or break it.“
With the growing concern about cyber security among families and the increased dependence of teachers and students on the availability of the internet, teaching cyber security as a subject in school is more important than ever. Alarmingly, most schools are not aggressive enough to push forward and start taking cyber security as a regular subject in schools.
Earlier this year, we took a look at the largest global cyberattack that changed the way social networking websites handle privacy and security — not just for minors online, but for all internet users. However, teachers can help children learn responsible online behaviour.
National Cyber Security Alliance And Microsoft Survey:
A recent survey by the National Cyber Security Alliance and Microsoft found that 91% of teachers, 92% of technical coordinators, and 99% of administrators believe it should be taught.
The survey surveyed administrators, teachers and technology coordinators. Despite this agreement, the survey found a massive gap between perceptions of how well and how often cybersecurity is taught.
While 81% of teachers and administrators believed that their schools and districts teach this subject adequately, only 51% of teachers agreed with the statement, “My school/school district does an adequate job of preparing students for cyber ethics, online safety, and security issues computers.“
Blue Whale Challenge:
Additionally, the recent Blue Whale task is believed to be a suicide game in which a group of administrators assigns a task to the participant to complete every day for 50 days, with the last suicide being believed to be triggered via a social network. With 20 cases already reported in India and students falling in love with the game, 11 dying by suicide, and 9 near escapes, it is, therefore, vital to educate students about protecting their safety and privacy online and cyberbullying.
Taking advantage of this gap in the school curriculum, some instructors say they are coming up with creative ways to get kids and school officials interested in digital safety lesson plans, saying students really need to consider that what they share online can have an impact on themselves and others.
Additionally, with the cybersecurity industry said to be growing exponentially with the industry booming, educating students about security may have the unintended consequence of kids taking it up as a career. Experts agree that more schools are realizing that a one-time assembly or guest speaker on cybersecurity won’t be enough in today’s fast-paced environment.
Peer Tehleel Manzoor is a Cyber Security Researcher and can be reached at tehleelmukhdoomi@gmail.com