Learn to be Cyber Safe through Disney Stories
The concept of cybersecurity can be challenging to navigate in conversations between parents and their little ones. The key is to establish a relationship between cybersecurity and a subject matter that children will find easy to visualise. Here are 3 cyber tips to teach your children, presented in a fun and engaging way!
1. Set Strong Passwords
Elsa has a magical ice castle where she can be safe from intruders like the evil guy Hans. She uses her unique power to shut the gates, such that no one can enter the castle easily. Just like how Elsa protects her castle, you can keep your personal information safe by using a strong password for your online accounts. Like a special magic spell that only you can create, you can think of a password that is unique to you. Use a mix of letters, numbers, and symbols in your password, and based on a memory that only YOU can think of! E.g. ILearn
2. Beware of Phishing Emails
Remember how Ursula tricks Ariel into giving away her precious voice, by signing on a suspicious form with her name? That's what happens with phishing, which is a trick that cyber criminals use to get hold of your personal information instead of Ariel’s voice. They might send messages via text or emails that look friendly and a promise of attractive rewards, but it may trick you into doing something dangerous. Don’t believe everything you see, and if something is too good to be true, it probably is. Remember: if you receive a text message or email that looks suspicious, do not click on the links, or give your personal information away. Go to a trusted adult and inform them about the suspicious message.
3. Do Not Reveal your Personal Information
In Inside Out, Joy and the emotions left trails of glowing footprints when they were roaming around Riley’s mind, causing them to be tracked down easily by Anxiety, who wanted to stop them from returning to the control centre. Similarly in the digital world, when we upload information on the Internet, such as photos, personal information, and visit websites, we leave behind footprints that other Internet users can use to track our online activity. Like how Joy and friends needed to be careful in revealing their location, we too should be careful about what information we are leaving behind on the Internet. Minimise the information that you share online and ensure that your photos are also not tagged to your location.
Conclusion
Cybersecurity is a journey towards a lifelong learning to build the instinct to handle the dangers of the digital world. As parents, it’s never too early to start educating your children on ways to stay safe online, to protect them from potential digital threats. We hope that this article has been helpful in guiding your child to stay safe online!
