3 Ways Make Your Kids Smarter About Online Security 2024
Kids are heading back to school, and parents need to help them create good computer habits with a firm focus on online safety. We interviewed an expert to find out how.
Chances are, while performing your morning scroll through today's
list of frightening headlines, you read about the discovery or fallout
from a major cybersecurity incident. Hacks, ransomware deployment, phishing, social engineering scams — these events happen every day, and they can affect you or your kids.
What
you may not know is that students and schools get targeted every day,
too. While someone opening a credit card in your child's name or
tricking them into giving up private information may not make the news,
there's no doubt that such attacks can be just as devastating for kids
as they are for companies—maybe more so.
Now that your
kids are heading back to school, they need to understand the risks
associated with learning online. From learning how to avoid online scammers to correctly using a password manager, forming good online habits can keep your student, and the rest of your family, safe online.
Schools—and Students—Are Targets Online
I spoke with Dr. Davina Pruitt-Mentle
about ways to get kids interested in forming good cybersecurity habits.
She is the Lead for Academic Engagement of NICE, the National
Initiative for Cybersecurity Education at the National Institute of
Standards and Technology (NIST). Pruitt-Mentle has over 20 years of
experience preparing kids for joining the cybersecurity workforce. She
says younger students have long been targets for online fraud.
"I
can remember preaching this back in 2000, 2001," she stated. "Schools
are still a high target, especially K-12. Because you don't even realize
that anything is a problem until you start applying for scholarships or
internships."
According to a 2018 study by Javelin,
over one million children were victims of identity fraud in 2017. This
led to $540 million in out-of-pocket costs to families, as they had to
pay to restore their accounts, credit, and identities to good standing.
Children may be tech-savvy, but many aren't aware of the dangers of the
world. They may give out information like social security numbers,
credit card numbers, and other personal information in online
communication with people they don't know.
How to Help Kids Study Online Safely
What
can you do to keep your student safe while letting them learn online?
Pruitt-Mentle says chatting about who and what is online is key, as well
as practicing good habits yourself. We've put together the following
list of things to do to keep your student safer online this school year.
Feel free to contribute your own online learning safety protocols in
the comments.
1. Be a Good Role Model
"Being aware and being educated is the most important," Pruitt-Mentle explained.
Children
are always watching the adults in their lives and emulating their
actions. If you want to raise a student who is aware of cybersecurity
threats and willing to do the work to keep them at bay, you have to show
off your good online security habits.
This means, as the adult in their lives, you must remember to keep your software, operating systems, and apps up to date. Use multi-factor authentication and a password manager. Use a VPN
while you browse online. Most of all, let your kids see you doing these
things so they will incorporate those good practices into their own
internet routines while they browse, play, and learn online.
2. Give Kids Space for Success
Pruitt-Mentle
advised parents to maintain a separate computer or even a separate
network for students, to avoid any risk to the computer parents use for
sensitive transactions.
Kids are bound to make mistakes. Sometimes
those mistakes can be costly for your home network. It's a good idea to
let kids, especially teens, have their own computers for homework or
leisure time. Whether it's an inexpensive and relatively indestructible Chromebook or a gaming PC
with all the bells and whistles, separate your student's activities
from the computer where you conduct important business-like work or
financial transactions.
That way, if your kid stumbles upon some
malware, it has less potential to affect everyone in the family. If
another computer isn’t in the budget, create a separate system account just for your student’s schoolwork, and be sure they use it.
Of course, you'll need to ensure your kid's PC is outfitted with the right security software. You'll want an antivirus at the absolute minimum, and you might want to set older kids up with a password manager, too. For younger kids, you may consider using free parental control apps such as Google's Family Link or Apple's Screen Time to enforce online time limits and redirect kids away from adult content.
If you do install third-party parental control software, make sure to tell
the child it's there, and why. Nothing will turn your relationship
adversarial more quickly than your kid feeling like you're spying on
them. That leads to the final point: talking to your kids.
3. Talk to Your Kids About Security
Remember
the old "Stranger Danger" tactic for scaring your kids into being safe?
"That tactic doesn't work with students," Pruitt-Mentle said. "That
actually can backfire." In other words, scaring kids isn't helpful.
Instead, try talking to them.
Talk to your kids about the
real-world consequences of lax internet security, ranging from why you
need to keep your software updated, to what to do if you find your email address in a data breach.
Explain to them why giving up any personal information in exchange for
free games or other virtual items is dangerous and can lead to identity
theft.
Explain to your student how to avoid phishing scams
that may pop up in their inbox. Be sure they know it is okay to come to
the adult in their lives if they think they’ve clicked on a bad link or
visited an unsecured website. It's all-important, and a reasonable
conversation can guide kids toward safer online experiences during the
school year and beyond.
