In contemporary society, children seem to be entering a digital environment. However, this does not mean they understand internet safety precautions. This post will cover fundamental cybersecurity concepts that children should understand, including key vocabulary and effective best practices.
What is cybersecurity?
Initially, it is essential to elucidate the concept of cybersecurity to younger audiences. Cybersecurity is the process of safeguarding smart devices, networks, and data against unwanted access. How can this be conveyed in a manner comprehensible to a youthful audience?
It is advisable to deconstruct this notion to its most fundamental definition. Understanding fundamental cybersecurity best practices enables us to safeguard ourselves in the digital realm. It is the digital equivalent of securing a door with a sturdy lock to deter illegal entry.
This is the foundation of cybersecurity, which may educate children about ethical online conduct. Let us examine more notions and terminology that need their understanding.
What fundamental cybersecurity concepts should children understand?
Contemporary youngsters seem to possess innate technological proficiency. They adeptly manage smart technologies, having been immersed in them from an early age. Nonetheless, their ability to effortlessly activate YouTube and play their preferred music does not imply any understanding of the principles of safe online conduct.
What fundamental cybersecurity principles should be imparted to young children to mitigate risks when navigating the internet? The fundamental words and optimal practices presented here are critical for young internet users to understand.
Fundamentals of Cybersecurity: Terminology and Best Practices for Children
#1: Categories of Hazards for Children
Prior to instructing youngsters on the fundamentals of cybersecurity, it is critical to understand the various risks they need to recognize. Children may encounter three sorts of internet dangers. Let us examine what they are:
1.1. Strangers
Initially, there are the dangers associated with unfamiliar individuals. These are the predators who attempt to get sensitive information from minors by adopting false identities or transmitting dubious links.
1.2. Peers
Secondly, youngsters may become targets of online harassment, generally referred to as cyberbullying. This phenomenon often occurs among peers, who may be either strangers or acquaintances.
1.3. Themselves
Children may pose a risk to themselves, particularly when they engage with the internet unattended for extended durations. During that time, children may download harmful content or click perilous links that could compromise their information.
#2: Figuring out what personal data means
Most of the time, kids don’t understand how important it is to keep private or secret information safe. As an example, a lot of the time they don’t know that you can share your address with school friends but not online. As the age of kids who use social media drops, it’s more important than ever to know what information can and cannot be shared.
This could be your full name, home or school location, phone number, and other details. When it comes to teens, you can add their banking information to this list since they buy things online. Tell kids that they should never put this kind of information on their public pages, where hackers, identity thieves, and other crooks can see it.
#3: Coming up with strong passwords
Kids have to make their own internet accounts for things like schools, social media, and video games. So, one basic privacy best practice that kids should learn is how to keep other people from getting into these accounts without permission. Creating robust passwords is the first step.
As a general rule, passwords should have more than 8 characters and include letters, numbers, and symbols. To make things safer, people are suggesting passphrases, which are longer strings of words that can be used instead of passwords. Don’t forget to tell your kids that they should never share their passwords or passphrases, online or off.
#4: How to Spot Phishing Attempts
Cybercriminals often use phishing to get people to give them personal or financial information by making it look like they are legitimate people or companies. It can happen via websites, emails, text messages, or phone calls, all of which children can access. For example, they could get an email saying they won a gift or that their account will be blocked if they don’t give certain information.
Explain to young people who use the internet that they should be aware of signs of a fake message, such as spelling mistakes and strange language, and ask for a password. This way, kids will learn to spot scam attempts and be less likely to fall for them. They will also be more likely to ask an adult they trust for help before clicking on anything.
#5: Talking About Privacy Settings
Setting up their privacy settings on social media sites, internet games, and apps can make them much safer for kids if they know how to do it. People who use most of these online sites can decide who can see their content.
Explain to young users how to make their accounts secret so that their posts can only be seen by their close family and friends and not by anyone else. Besides that, they should pay attention to who is on their friends list. Kids should only allow people they know in real life to ask them to be friends. This will make it less possible that the wrong people will get their information.
#6: Getting off of devices
Kids often don’t know why or how to log out of their Internet accounts. This is essential because kids share electronics a lot, whether they are at school or at home. People who forget to log out can let other people into their accounts without permission, which can lead to hacked files, identity theft, and credit card information being taken.
Additionally, they should never check the “Remember me” box and should always remember to “Log out,” especially when using a shared or public computer. This will ensure that no one else can access their personal information or their parents’ banking information.
#7: Making sure you download files safely
Kids are always interested in new software, apps, and games. But they don’t always take from sites they know are safe and whose material has been checked for malware. When people search for their favorite video game, it can lead them to sketchy websites with harmful links.
These can let kids download bugs without meaning to, which could damage not only the gadget but also the whole network. Young people should be told that they should only download games or software from places they know and trust, and they should do this with an adult if possible. Also, avoid free offers that may have hidden costs or risk their system.
#8: Talking to an adult you trust
One last important thing for kids to remember about safety is that they don’t know everything. Many times, they may need assistance from an adult to ensure that the message they received is real or that the website they are on is safe.
They may also come across online behavior that makes them feel awful and need help dealing with. So, they need to be able to turn to someone they can trust and who knows what they’re talking about whenever they need to. So, they can safely and properly use the virtual world without jeopardizing their mental health or safety.
In conclusion
Cybersecurity is important for everyone who uses the internet, but it’s especially important for younger people. As kids get older and spend more time in the virtual world, they should be able to use it safely by following some rules. We talked about some basic safety rules that can be used to make sure people behave safely and responsibly online. Keep lines of communication open with your kids so they know they can ask for help if they’re not sure about something they’re doing online.
