This week we were asked to read an article entitled Teaching Children Cyber Security and Ethics produced by the Cyber Security Industry Alliance (2005). This article addresses many of the potential dangers our children face in the online world today such as phishing, spam, identity theft, etc., and poses the question “Who does the teaching?” Should parents take on this responsibility? Should teachers be responsible for designing a cyber security curriculum? The CSIA contends that these attempts would only lead to spotty results. Instead, national effort should be made to educate children about cyber security and safety, with parents and teachers playing critical roles in achieving the overall goal. Simply having this responsibility placed on teachers within the K-12 environment would not be the most effective measure to addressing this problem. Students, and the public in general, would be made much more aware of the problems of cyber security and the potential solutions if there were a nationally sponsored cyber awareness program.
I very much agree that cyber awareness among children is a critical need. Children now grow up in a multimedia world and have access to people and information in ways that children didn’t have twenty years ago. The implications of this are that people and information which may be inappropriate and even dangerous for our children may also reach them unless precautions are taken and children are taught how to protect themselves. “Just as we teach our children ‘right from wrong’ in the physical world, we must ensure that the same lessons are taught in the cyber world as well” (CSIA, 2005).
Do you see a need for a national cyber security awareness program? If so, what aspects of this program would you like to see put in place (i.e. legislation, advertising campaigns, training, national curriculum standards, etc.)?
References:
Cyber Security Industry Alliance. (2005, July). Teaching Children Cyber Security and Ethics. www.csialliance.org.
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2 comments:
I think that a national cyber security awareness program could be a good thing. I say "could" because it could also be done poorly and not be effective, or stir up fear instead of education as some legislation has done.
If such a program did exist, it seems right that the emphasis should be on training and curriculum standards, so that we can teach children at an early age to be aware and cautious of potential cyber threats.
I also wonder if there should be some kind of legislation about cyber security. It could be a good thing, but also could be taken too far--you know those lawmakers that get carried away with their fears and try to control things too much. I have trouble trusting that things would be any different with laws on cyber security.
Good question, Elise.
Brianna,
Thanks for your reply. I'm glad you specified that a national cyber security program "could" be a good thing. Oftentimes intentions are good, but people get carried away. We certainly don't want to scare our students away from all of the great uses the internet has to offer. Responsibility and ethical behavior should be our guide rather than limitations and scare tactics. The same thing applies with legislation as you mentioned. Legislation can be helpful in some cases, if not overdone. I would be in favor of a national program for cyber security education if that program is implemented with teacher training, is well coordinated within existing curriculum standards, and does not seek to limit internet use but rather seeks to provide a greater level of awareness regarding its use.
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