Welcome to Week 1-4 of the four-week K-12 Cyber Awareness Month (CAM) campaign, running from October 4 to 29, 2021.
This year’s campaign theme, “Cyber awareness as self-care”, has the objective of helping everyone in K-12 education – teachers, staff, students and parents – be safer and more secure online. The campaign provides resources to help everyone understand pertinent cyber threats and know a few simple steps to protect themselves, their workplace, learning space, and their devices.
The campaign is divided into weekly themes which highlight different aspects of cyber security, online privacy and online (cyber) safety, as all three areas are of equal importance to K-12. For each weekly theme, resources from multiple reputable sources are provided.
All listed resources are also available in French.
Week 1: Show your devices and accounts some love
Fortifying and locking down our devices and online
accounts should always be a priority.
Our devices and accounts are what we use to stay connected,
to create and publish content, access online services, and play games. They are
the doors to our online presence. We use our devices to authenticate who we
are, communicate through email, texting, social media, and other tools, and we
also use our devices to store personal information locally or in the cloud.
Many of us have multiple devices and accounts. Some are
personal and some are for work, and some personal devices may be shared with
other family members. Keeping track of it all can sometimes be challenging but
it is important to do so.
This week take stock of your user accounts and devices and
learn how to better protect them.
Topics and tips for Week 1
include:
Access the embedded links to find out more (links will
take you to different websites):
- Enable the strongest authentication tools available on
your devices and online accounts (e.g. biometrics, multi-factor
authentication, and strong passphrases or complex passwords).
· Create a strong password or
passphrase unique to each
account. Best practices for passphrases
and passwords.
· Use MFA (multi-factor
authentication) to add an extra
layer of protection.
· Enable biometrics such as fingerprints or facial recognition as an
authentication factor.
· If you have too many passwords to remember, consider a password manager.
- Keep all software up to date and
enable automatic updates. Learn how updates secures your
devices.
- Install anti-virus / antimalware
software on your personal devices and set it to scan on a schedule. Please note
Board-provided devices already have anti-virus installed.
- Updating privacy and security settings on your devices
and applications.
- Back up your
devices regularly.
- Set age-appropriate parental controls on children’s
devices and set screen time and
device boundaries. Talk to children about
privacy, safety and security online.
- Know your school’s BYOD and acceptable use policies and
follow them.
Videos
The CAM videos created by ECNO and the Ministry of Education
are perfectly tailored to be played on school hallway/atrium TVs. With simple
yet effective animations, and close captions/subtitles embedded
into the videos, they can easily be played on repeat with no sound
distractions. They can be found at the below links:
Week 1a – Show your devices and accounts
some love - Niko
Week 1b – Show your devices and accounts
some love - Niko
Stay tuned for
Week 2: Paying attention to your home network and Wi-Fi connections on
Monday October 11th.
October 11 to 15, 2021
Week 2: Pay attention to your home network and Wi-Fi connections
Safe and secure Wi-Fi connections are just as important as having secure devices and online accounts.
Nowadays most devices are connected to the internet through our home network, our school or office network, a data plan, or a public Wi-Fi hotspot. Many of the applications installed on our devices require an internet connection to access online services and function properly. Our devices will often look to connect to available Wi-Fi hotspots irrespective of whether that Wi-Fi connection is safe or not. It is up to the device user to ensure appropriate security and safety measures are taken when connecting to public Wi-Fi hotspots or deciding not to connect.
Topics and tips for Week 2 include:
Access the embedded links to find out more (links will take you to different websites):
- Secure your home network and actively managing it. Considering upgrading your network router every 3-5 years to take advantage of improvements in security features.
- Take stock of devices connected to your home network and monitoring for unusual activity.
- Setup a guest network for your friends and visiting family members to separate their access and activity from all your home devices.
- Setup a separate network for your smart devices, so if compromises occur, the threat remains isolated from your personal devices that contain personal and sensitive information.
- Kid-proof your home Wi-Fi network to make it safe for children.
- Avoid untrusted public Wi-Fi access; use a personal data plan or personal hotspot or use a VPN when having to connect through an untrusted Wi-Fi hotspot.
Videos
The CAM videos created by ECNO and the Ministry of Education are perfectly tailored to be played on school hallway/atrium TVs. With simple yet effective animations, and close captions/subtitles embedded into the videos, they can easily be played on repeat with no sound distractions. They can be found at the below links:
Week 2a – Pay attention to your home network and Wi-Fi connections with Sam
Week 2b – Pay attention to your home network and Wi-Fi connections with William
October 18 to 22, 2021
Week 3: Care for your personal information – it is valuable!
It is more important than
ever to protect our personal information.
With personal devices, smart
devices and the internet becoming a routine part of our lives, as we use them
to work, learn, exercise, entertain ourselves and socialize, it is more
important than ever to protect our personal information and teach our kids to
develop habits that will make it part of their day-to-day routine. Like how
children learn to be safe outdoors, children need to learn to be safe online.
Topics and tips for Week 3
include:
Access the embedded links to find out more (links will
take you to different websites):
- Protect your personal
information as it is valuable to you but also
cybercriminals.
·
How to protect yourself from
identity theft
·
Tips for protecting personal information
·
Quick privacy tips for parents
·
Privacy pursuit – Games and
Activities for kids (NEW)
- Familiarize yourself with the terms and conditions of
applications you use as some may be sharing your personal information with
third-party organizations.
- Avoid phishing attempts and online scams.
·
The 7 flags of phishing and the most common forms of phishing
·
How to use online banking
securely
- Stay safe on social media and do not
overshare personal information.
- Maintain privacy while online and gaming.
- Review and update privacy settings and make it a habit.
Videos
The CAM videos created by ECNO and the Ministry of
Education are perfectly tailored to be played on school hallway/atrium TVs.
With simple yet effective animations, and close captions/subtitles embedded into the videos, they can easily be played
on repeat with no sound distractions. They can be found at the below links:
Week 3 – Care for your personal
information, it is valuable with Niimi
October 25 to 29, 2021
Week 4: Be mindful of your online presence and digital
footprint
It’s important to manage your
online presence and digital footprint!
This past year, kids have faced
unique challenges, as many of their in-person activities have been replaced
with an increased use of technology. This has resulted in an unprecedented
increased online presence and digital footprint for most of us, adults, and
kids alike.
Everyone should assume that what
is shared online will remain online forever. Every action you take online, and
information posted about you contributes to your “digital footprint” which can
straddle our personal, student and professional lives. Improving our awareness
of the traces of data we leave online and recognizing how our individual
digital footprints vary can help to improve the protection of our data online.
Topics and tips for Week 4 include:
Access the embedded links to find out more (links will
take you to different websites):
- Understand what you post
shapes your online reputation and becomes part
of your digital footprint. Always strive to establish a positive presence online.
- Minimize the risk of
being a target of online harassment. Avoid sharing too much
information online and be safe on social media.
- Know that posts
are not always private.
- Delete accounts (and
associated information) that you no longer need – old accounts and data
can be a risk.
- Navigate safely. Take the quick self-assessment on
Internet Safety.
Videos
The CAM videos created by ECNO and the Ministry of
Education are perfectly tailored to be played on school hallway/atrium TVs.
With simple yet effective animations, and close captions/subtitles embedded into the videos, they can easily be played
on repeat with no sound distractions. They can be found at the below links:
Week 4: Be
mindful of your online presence and digital footprint - Amara
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