Recent cyber security breaches experienced by North Island health network, Pinnacle Health, and Australian telco, Optus, have been splashed all over the news, again highlighting that cyber attacks are becoming more frequent and costly.
Less well-known, however, is that cyber crime is also increasingly targeting and impacting young people. Here in Aotearoa New Zealand, Netsafe has reported that, in the 12 months to March 2022, 17% of all reports to their incident contact centre came from people under 21, while reports from this age group have been growing at an average of 13% in the last three years.
In the ongoing fight against cyber crime, developing and supporting cyber security skills from an early age is becoming more vital.
Launch of Cyber Skills Aotearoa
On Thursday 27 October, Cyber Skills Aotearoa, a collaboration between Government, educators and industry which aims to teach online security skills to all students in years 6-13, will be launched at Naenae College in Wellington by The Minister for the Digital Economy and Communications, Dr David Clark.
Available free to all schools and kura kaupapa Māori, Cyber Skills Aotearoa is presented by not-for-profit Grok Academy, and comprises a suite of four challenges designed to arm intermediate and high school students with critical technical skills and social awareness that will help them stay safe online. The programme will also aim to raise awareness of exciting career opportunities in cyber security.
Cyber Comp
The first, 45-minute challenge, Cyber Comp, runs until 11 November and, in term one, 2023, three further Cyber Skills Aotearoa challenges will become available, covering Information Security, Web Application Security and Cryptography.
During Cyber Comp, students will experience a range of 12 age-appropriate scenarios from a hackers’ perspective, learning how the information they share online can be used by bad actors, and ways they can better protect their privacy. This module will be ‘unlocked’ by Minister Clark at the launch.
What is Cyber Skills Aotearoa?
Adapted from the successful programme designed by Grok Academy and experienced by more than 200,000 Australian students, Cyber Skills Aotearoa has been developed for New Zealand classrooms in partnership with CORE Education Tātai Aho Rau, the New Zealand Government and industry partners including ASB, AWS, BNZ, CERT NZ, Network for Learning, Netsafe and the National Cyber Security Centre.
Cyber Skills Aotearoa activities will help students gain a greater understanding of the importance of protecting their personal information, as well as teach them how to create stronger passwords, be able to evaluate emails and text messages to reduce the risk of falling victim to scams, and understand what they should do if they receive a scam email or message.
Free to use resources have been created in both English and te reo Māori to ensure all students, including those in kura kaupapa Māori, can take part.
N4L proud to be supporting Cyber Skills Aotearoa
We’re delighted to be supporting the launch of Cyber Skills Aotearoa. We love this initiative because, as cyber security experts in the education sector, we believe cyber safety and security is vital and we want to continue to help educate young people about it. Cyber Skills Aotearoa will support ākonga improving their cyber security skills and schools and kura improving their security posture, and we’re all for it.
“As the employer of the cybersecurity team that provides faster, safer and more secure internet to schools and kura reo Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand, Network for Learning is proud to be involved in this initiative that helps improve young people’s cybersecurity awareness,” says Larrie Moore, Chief Executive Officer of N4L. “The size and complexity of the cyber threat is growing, so we must equip our young people with the knowledge and skills to stay safe and secure online in what is already a digitally-enabled world.”
How do I enrol my students in Cyber Skills Aotearoa?
Teachers and principals can enrol students now in Cyber Comp, NZ’s first nationwide student cyber skills challenge and the first module of Cyber Skills Aotearoa. For more information, go to grok.nz/cyber-n4l and enrol your students for Cyber Comp here. You can also request sets of professionally printed cyber cards – a useful classroom resource to engage students in discussions about online privacy and security.
Have fun and good luck!