Cybersecurity and Privacy for Students K-8 by John Bandler

This page is to address some introductory cybersecurity and privacy matters for students K-8, their parents, caregivers, and teachers.

First, we should consider and respect the privacy of others, and this includes their computers and online accounts. We would never go into another person's bookbag or home without permission. Similarly, we should never go into someone's computer or online account without permission.

Then, we should remember that the world is a very big place with many people and the Internet connects us all. Some people will not respect our privacy, and some might even try to do bad things. We need to protect our privacy, consider our cybersecurity, and make good decisions.

Here are my first few tips to improve our security and privacy.

  1. You need to make good decisions about privacy and cybersecurity. This is a big area so lets get started.
  2. You need good passwords, and then protect them. Do not share your passwords except with parents or caregivers. Your computer devices (laptop, tablet, phone) need a good password. Your online accounts (for email, school, social media, gaming) also need a good password.  You should use different passwords for different accounts.
    • What is a good password?  It should be hard for someone to guess it. Longer is better. More complex is better. Unique is better (different from your other passwords). Also, you should be able to remember your password. Yes, passwords are a challenge for everyone.
  3. Periodically check your privacy and security settings on your: 
    • Computers (laptop, tablet, smartphone, etc.)
    • Online accounts (Google, Microsoft, Roblox, Facebook, etc.)
    • What information have you agreed to share or make public? Check and confirm your choices.
    • Is your computer or online account as secure as it should be?
  4. Help each other and discuss.
    • Privacy, security, and technology are complex! By talking it through we can learn and make good decisions together.
    • Adults can help children, and children can help adults. Each has knowledge and perspectives that are important.
  5. There's more, and this is a continual process.

Conclusion

Privacy and cybersecurity are fascinating areas that affect us all. This article is to start a conversation, and get you thinking about some basics. Of course, this is not a comprehensive overview of the many cybersecurity and privacy issues students and adults face. For more information, please review my resources on this site and my books.

Additional resources

  • My site has many articles with more details on cybersecurity.
  • Cybersecurity Tips
  • My book Cybersecurity for the Home and Office, covers this comprehensively, with a chapter devoted to children and families.
  • The Center for Cyber Safety and Education is a non-profit organization with extensive educational materials on these topics of cybersecurity and privacy. They are affiliated with ISC2, the leading information security organization. I hold ISC2's CISSP certification, and regularly speak at their annual conference.

This article is hosted at https://johnbandler.com/cybersecurity-and-privacy-k-8/, Copyright John Bandler, all rights reserved.

Posted 9/22/2021. Updated 9/24/2021.