Cybersecurity Education

“As cybersecurity leaders, we have to create our message of influence because security is a culture and you need the business to take place and be part of that security culture.” – Britney Hommertzheim

Top Tips from the CyKids:

1. Raise awareness. Knowledge is power.
2. Never open messages from people you don’t know.
3. Protect your password: safeguard your password and all private information from inquisitive peers.
4. Education yourself: To prevent cyberbullying from occurring you must understand exactly what it is.
5. Log out of your accounts on public computers: Similar to not sharing your passwords, don’t give anyone the slightest chance to post as you or to share false information.

“Cybersecurity is a shared responsibility and iT boils down to this: in cybersecurity, the more systems we secure, the more secure we all are.” – Jeh Johnson

What is Cyberbullying?

Cyber bullying is an aggressive and intentionally hurtful or intimidating behavior online directed towards someone.

Recognizing signs of cyberbullying:

1. Your child appears to have anger, depression or frustration after using any devices.
2. Your child stops accessing social media, apps or games
3. Your child is uneasy about going to school

Tips for parents to help prevent cyberbullying:

1. Encourage your kids to set up private chats with trusted friends to avoid unwanted comments and exposure to inappropriate conversations
2. Encourage your kids to keep chats and conversations relevant to the game
3. Implement restrictions in the apps store and search engines (Google).
4. Save texts, posts, and emails – don’t reply and don’t delete them. Inform your school or local law enforcement about the situation and await further guidance and instructions.
5. Reach out to the CyKids team for additional assistance.

“Think before you click. If people do not know you personally and if they cannot see you as you type, what you post online can be taken out of context if you are not careful in the way your message is delivered.

There’s no room for hate and violence in this world. We must learn to be more kind, compassionate, empathetic, and sympathetic to humanity.”
– Germany Kent

Tips for Online Safety:

1. Check for safety, blocking and reporting resources on the sites your child uses.
2. Remember that even though your child’s profile may be set to private that will not prevent them from seeing what others post and share.
3. Talk to your child about what is acceptable and respectable to post online.
4. Review your child’s posts and remind them that anything posted or sent through the internet is impossible to fully remove.
5. Good communication is key – normalize conversations with your children about their online activity.
6. Set expectations early on -implement rules for device use from an early age, keep communication open, teach your kids about privacy and password security, and monitor and communicate regularly.

Tips for Online Shopping

Protect your credit, money and identity by following these tips when shopping online:

• Never click on advertising you see online. Always type it directly into the browser.
• Never shop on open WiFi. Always shop on a secure connection.
• Don’t store credit card on sites. Always input the information manually.