Cyber safety is the act of taking precautions to protect your network and security from any malicious cyber attacks or viruses that may make their way to your devices. Cyber safety is important for the protection of your personal, confidential data. A breach in your personal data could result in financial damages, reputation damages etc. Data privacy is extremely important, especially in this day and age– as we are living in a digital world.
There are various types of cyber attacks:
- malware
- identity theft
- phishing (regarding emails)
- cyber bullying
- plagiarism
- data leaks
Some cyber safety tips include:
- create strong passwords on all platforms that you may use
- create unique passwords for each
- never save financial information into a website
- ensure that permissions for each site visited line up with the topic (example: your calculator app should not ask to use your location)
- turn on your two-factor authentication when applicable
- always back up your data on personal devices
As for cyber safety in my own schooling, I saw a few different approaches to the matter. For one, my parents enforced the rule that I was not allowed to own a cell phone, iPad, iPod, or personal laptop until grade nine in high school. I used to hate this rule more than anything in the world; because “eVerYbOdy iN mY cLasS hAs a CeLL pHoNe, i’M tHe onLY oNe WhO dOesn’T HaVe oNe”. Of course it was a natural reaction, being left out amongst my peers. I was upset that I was the only one without a cell phone (mind you, this was sixth grade) But, thinking about it now, I’m glad my parents enforced that rule. In a way, I was able to maintain my innocence a little bit longer. Your average 11-year-old doesn’t need their nose in a screen all day. I used to hear horror stories of my classmates being involved in cyberbullying, blackmail, explicit photos being sent in group chats, and creepy old men online (KiK, Whatsapp, Snapchat, Google Hangouts).
As for my peers with cell phones, they were not allowed to be out on students’ desks during class time, unless told otherwise (earbuds were allowed during work periods/quiet time). My elementary and high school would have annual cyber safety and anti-bullying assemblies in hopes to steer students in the right direction to form a healthy relationship with the digital world.
In high school (after I attained a cell phone), precautions seemed to intensify. I believe within the last few months of my grade twelve year, the school had blocked any kind of social media from the wifi router. So any student without data could not open their social media apps while being on school grounds. This was a big thing for me at the time. I had just gotten data maybe a week before social media was blocked from the school’s internet. Safe to say that I may have been laughing a little.
This tactic was about 50/50 when it came to being successful. Shortly after being enforced, students without data figured out how to download a VPN on their devices to use the apps that were blocked.
I will admit, blocking apps from the wifi router was a smart idea on paper, but the students were smarter. Now, is that a good thing that the students were smarter? Or not? Does it show that the teachers are doing their jobs well? Too well? Personally, I think that the younger generation does have an advantage when it comes to tech, growing up with it and all. The younger generation will always be one step ahead with technology itself. But, internet safety– not so much. This is why it’s so important to talk about cyber safety with your students– to keep them informed and safe.
Here is a link to more cyber safety tips at:
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