Happy World Teachers Day! Cyber-conscious educators can help shape the cyber defender of tomorrow

October 5 is World Teachers’ Day, a moment when we celebrate teachers for their hard work, care and commitment to serving their communities and educating the minds of the future.

Educators can empower students to make the most of technology safely in their journey to becoming digital citizens.

Since we’ve just begun our Cybersecurity Awareness Month marathon of essential and practical guides to ensure everyone’s safety, we believe that teachers have an important role in fostering a cybersecurity mindset for their students.

Our gift to you on this cheerful day is a short list of discussion topics you can initiate this year to help nurture the future defender of the cyber world:

1.     Talk about the importance of not sharing personal information online, such as their home address, phone number or other sensitive information

2.     As kids grow older, they play games online and create accounts, email addresses and social media profiles. Advise them to always use strong, unique passwords for their accounts, which they should only share with their parents

3.     Emphasize the importance of keeping online accounts private and never engaging in conversations with strangers

4.     Depending on kids’ age, talk about different online scams, phishing, and the importance of avoiding unfamiliar websites and downloading apps without parental permission

5.     Help kids create a positive online reputation and not engage in mean conversations, post inappropriate content, or threaten and bully others in both the real and digital world. Remind them that every comment and post leaves a digital mark that can negatively impact their future perspectives (college, work and relationships)

We also have some handy tips to help guide you through any cybersecurity challenge you may face throughout the year:

1. Keep your devices and software, including any educational tools and platforms, up to date and secured with strong passwords to help you avoid potential security risks that can expose your personal data

2. Use a security solution on your personal and work-related devices

3. Encrypt and backup all your data regularly to protect yours and your students’ personal data, as well as any work-related documents and school plans.

4. On top of using optimal password security measures (unique and complex passwords for all of your accounts), enable additional layers of security, such as MFA and biometrics, to prevent unauthorized access to online accounts that hold your personal and financial info.

5. Keep your email address, phone number and home address private on any social media platforms you may use, and keep an eye out for social engineering schemes

6. Don’t click on anonymous links you receive via email, text or message on social media; they are often weaponized to compromise accounts, devices and your finances

7. Make sure that your device webcam and microphone are protected against snoops with dedicated solutions that will alert you if malicious software is attempting to hijack your camera both at home or in the classroom

Be a cyber-conscious educator on #WorldTeachers’Day, and safeguard the digital you with a Bitdefender all-in-one security plan. You can dodge phishing attempts and nasty internet threats while benefiting from unlimited VPN traffic, a password manager, and identity theft protection to stay on top of data breaches and stop fraud attempts.

We wish you all a Happy Teacher’s Day and a cybersafe school year!