Cybersecurity company Kaspersky has teamed up with Skill Cup to launch a new free course that is designed to help children better navigate the internet and ensure they have a competent understanding of the cybersecurity threats and behavioural issues commonly found online.
In the last few weeks I’ve watched numerous young users on social media behave in abhorrent ways (mostly South African Fortnite players, but that is a story for another day) and I wondered if it had to do with the lack of education these kids get when it comes to the internet. While most of them were likely born with an iPad in their hands, do they really understand some of the ethical and security risks that come with living most of their life on the internet?
Kaspersky’s course aims to fix this
The free training course is meant to assist both parents and their kids to better understand digital ethics and cybersecurity. The programme is completely free on iOS and Android devices. The course features various modules that include short format lessons, real life case analysis and self-examination tests. When you’ve completed the course you’ll also receive a digital certificate – which is a nice to have but honestly, the real nice to have here is the information covered.
What you’ll learn:
The Kaspersky Kids on the internet course is basically a crash course in digital literacy and ethics. The topics cover some of the basics but are a strong starting point for any kid, or parent, letting that iPad go unmanaged. Here are some of the topics that are covered:
- Data Privacy on social networks – focusing on what information you share and where you share it, what information could be valuable for cyber criminals and how to protect it and types of fraud to watch out for.
- Online Communication Ethics – this module looks at things like Cyberbullying, communicating with strangers and identifying dangerous content (there’s also assistance for parents on how to handle these situations if you find your child is engaging in behaviours that aren’t safe online).
- Things like online threats, where kids hang out online and the dangers that poses as well as other various topics are touched on throughout the modules.
This programme is great for kids AND parents. I’d suggest both working through the modules and tests together, to better navigate the online world. Based on some of the vitriol we’ve seen just in the South African gaming community on Twitter, I think there are a host of teens and young adults that could benefit from this course as well. According to Kaspersky, the course was developed for kids and parents but anyone who uses the internet can find benefit.
