By Zack Schuler, founder and CEO of NINJIO
While cybersecurity is vital for companies, government, and many other organizations, it may be most important in your own living room. Cyberattacks on households can have devastating financial consequences, expose your family’s private information to prying eyes all over the Internet (including the dark web), and most disturbing of all, target children.
These are all reasons why talking to your kids about cybersecurity is crucial the moment they’re old enough to go online. Although adults are often shocked at how technologically adept kids are, they’re also more susceptible to cyberthreats — especially social engineering, which exploits their natural curiosity and naivete. However, kids can be taught how to defend themselves online just like adults — there are several simple principles that will give them a solid foundation in cybersecurity awareness, and these principles need to be reinforced early and often.
The Internet can be a powerful resource for education and connection — kids are fortunate to have immediate access to a huge repository of the world’s knowledge, as well as all the digital tools that help them do homework, interact with friends, and live digitally enriched lives. But to safely take advantage of all these resources, they have to know how to spot cyberattacks, report suspicious activity, and navigate the Internet without giving cybercriminals sensitive information. With that in mind, here are the top five dos and don’ts to help kids stay safe online.
1. Don’t Overshare
With all the social media platforms and instant messaging services out there, one constant temptation kids face is to overshare. According to research conducted by Kaspersky, 40 percent of children reveal sensitive information online, including their home address. This is why it’s essential to make sure kids understand which types of information should be kept private — from important locations in the real world (school, home, etc.) to account names and passwords.
Kids aren’t the only ones who overshare online — adults have a habit of doing so as well. This is why parents and teachers should be extra sensitive to how easy it is for kids to post and send sensitive material. By having discussions about what information belongs online and what should remain private, everyone in the family will be more cognizant of what they share.
2. Do Use All the Cybersecurity Tools Available
Cybersecurity can feel like a daunting challenge for anyone, and kids need all the help they can get. This is why parents and teachers have to put them in positions to be cyber defenders by showing them how to use resources like multi-factor authentication, software updates, and password managers.
Consider the importance of password managers, for instance. Verizon reports that credentials are the most sought-after type of data among cybercriminals, and kids should never be expected to come up with their own passwords — adults are bad enough with password hygiene, but with kids you should expect a lot of pet names and birthdays. This is all the more problematic considering the fact that 59 percent of parents share accounts with their children, while 49 percent don’t have passwords set up on devices their kids use. The right digital tools can address these problems immediately.
3. Don’t Talk to Strangers
Just as parents should urge kids to be wary of interactions with strangers in the real world, they also have to emphasize the importance of knowing exactly who’s on the other side of the screen. This applies to everything from the emails they send to the websites they visit. Kids should know that phishing is by far the most common type of cyberattack, and it only works by tricking victims into clicking on links and attachments or sharing personal information.
There are many ways parents and teachers can educate kids about phishing. They can use simulated phishing tests (which can easily be presented as games to keep children engaged) and even demonstrate what a real phishing email looks like if they ever receive one. These are all reminders that cybercriminals are constantly devising new ways to fool victims — a threat any child will instantly understand.
4. Do Talk to Parents and Teachers
When it comes to cybersecurity, open communication between children and adults is essential. Kids need to be taught that they should always report potential cyberattacks — even if they think they may have clicked on malware or made some other mistake. Instead of scolding kids for being deceived by a cybercriminal — something that happens to adults every day — it’s important to focus on what can be learned from the situation. Kids should have an incentive to be honest about their online behavior, even when that behavior leads to a cyberattack.
5. Do Help Kids Establish Healthy Cybersecurity Habits Early
According to a recent Sophos survey, more than two-thirds of parents believe persons in their households could be targeted by a cyberattack at some point in the next year, while just over half think their families are more at risk than they were a year ago. Younger people tend to be more digitally literate than adults — kids growing up today are digital natives, and they are often more comfortable with new technology than their parents. But this also means kids are spending much more time with their devices than previous generations, and the younger they are, the less they know about the cybersecurity implications of their online behavior.
There are many ways parents and teachers can make cybersecurity education fun and engaging for kids. They can try roleplaying — act out specific cyberattack scenarios and talk through their reactions. Share real-life examples of phishing emails you’ve received, and discuss which elements of the messages exposed them as fraudulent. Make catching and sharing suspicious material a game, complete with prizes and leaderboards. Parents should also be proactive with their kids’ devices — installing password managers and checking the devices regularly to ensure security software is up-to-date. Finally, be involved in and inquisitive about your kids’ digital lives — you may not be on Discord, but your kids probably are.
Parents and teachers should take advantage of kids’ digital literacy by teaching them about healthy cybersecurity habits as early as possible and continually reinforcing those habits as they get older. When cybersecurity becomes second nature, kids will be capable of keeping themselves and the rest of their families safe online.
