Cybersecurity: avenues and resources to understand and explain it

October is Cyber Security Awareness Month. This is a great opportunity to demystify the theme in order to be able to tackle it in class with the students. As a teacher, you first have to grasp the subtleties before you can explain it. We discussed it with educational advisor Julie April, from RÉCIT. 

“When it comes to cybersecurity, it can be tempting to think that it's only the responsibility of the IT teams at the school service center. However, each Internet user should feel concerned, ”argues Julie April, educational advisor at the RÉCIT national service, in the field of personal development.

She has also created a training course for teachers to help them better understand what it is about when it comes to cybersecurity. It will also offer this support live during the CréaCamp SPRINT of October 22, 2021.

His training takes the form of a meeting in a support group for victims of cybercrime. “After all, all teachers in Quebec were victims of the data theft at the Ministry of Education [which occurred a few years ago],” she says.

There are therefore events over which Internet users have no control; this data theft is an example. And, as computer attacks become more and more sophisticated, it becomes nearly impossible not to fall victim to them one day or another.

Adopt vigilant behavior

Fortunately, there are also events over which internet users can have control. This is where cybersecurity awareness comes into play, because it is everyone's behaviors and digital reflexes that are affected.

“We immediately think of passwords when we talk about cybersecurity. Yet this is only one element among many. In fact, for young people, sharing their password with friends is a sign of trust. Yes, we have to be interested in passwords, but the traces we leave on the Web also put us at risk, ”indicates Julie April.

Have you visited a website and found yourself with ads from that site in your Facebook feed? Have you visited a place with your cell phone that was geolocation enabled and are now receiving announcements about nearby places? Start typing a search in Google and the search engine fills in the phrase for you?

These are examples that are made possible by the traces we leave online. “Be careful, we must not fall into paranoia,” warns Julie April. “It's about being aware of it. Thus, it is possible to regain control and be more vigilant before sharing information about oneself on the Web ”.

Have you ever answered this kind of question on social media? This is a way imagined by fraudsters to get you to reveal information about yourself without realizing it.

Cultivate doubt

Some computer attacks can also reach us. In this case, we must then become aware of the cognitive biases that could make us fall into a trap.

"Cultivating doubt, sharpening your critical thinking, doing research, being in the nuance, taking a step back from the information that you receive or see scrolling on social networks, here are reflexes which can act as a protective agent and which must be developed, ”says the educational advisor.

If these tips are valid for adults, they are all the more relevant for young people who take their first steps on the Web without being aware of all the impacts of the traces they leave there. “It is possible to find ideas for activities to be carried out with the students for all levels of elementary and secondary as well as for all disciplines,” says Julie, who also gives several examples during her training.

Resources for teachers

If the topics interest you, here are some ways to go further:

• The school of social networks, a Belgian site that presents a host of awareness-raising activities. 
• The Canadian media education site Habilomedia and its cybersecurity activities, like Privacy hacker and his Young Canadians in a Wired World Study.
• Self-training Educate in cybersecurity of CADRE21 
• Think Cybersecurity Resources for Cyber Security Awareness Month

In addition :

• 3 activities for digital media education (a free special issue to download from the École branchée magazine)
• Resources on Citizenship in the Era digital from RÉCIT DP
• 3 reasons to learn about cybersecurity (a CADRE21 ticket)
• Do you teach? 10 reasons to take cybersecurity training (a post from Roberto Gauvin) 
• Cybersecurity: a new reality for the world of education (a post from Roberto Gauvin) 
• In Australia, cybersecurity education should also be integrated into the training program in the coming months.  

Dimension (s) of digital competence related to this article
2- Develop and mobilize your technological skills

To see the Framework.