What Security Awareness Training Means for Student Futures
Hackers thrive on low security awareness. They’re also masters at manipulating emotion. No wonder human error accounts for 90% of data breaches. That makes students as well as school staff susceptible, but they’re not the only ones. Even tech giants like Twitter and LinkedIn have suffered crippling social engineering attacks in recent years.
But through the chaos of the pandemic, threat actors have realised school environments represent a loosely guarded goldmine of sensitive data. As educational institutions scrambled to create remote learning environments, security failures became almost unavoidable. Educating students on the threats they’re most likely to encounter is critical – both in the short-term and for their futures. Here’s what your school can do to help them establish lifelong cybersafety skills:
Conduct security awareness training to prepare students for real-world threats
Protecting your school network is a must, but cybersecurity training also accomplishes a more central goal: preparing students for the real world. After graduation, their ability to thrive on their own largely hinges on what they learnt in school – and how well they learnt it.
By prioritising security awareness best practices now, students emerge better equipped to handle issues that may arrive in their day-to-day lives as adults. This includes an ever-expanding landscape of more sophisticated cyber threats, like those that come with new, interconnected technology, including the Internet of Things IoT.
Cultivating strong cyber defences and good digital hygiene skills should be as common as learning to read or write. This training should begin as soon as students enter school and advance as they do. The International Society for Technology in Education’s Standards for Students has some great resources, to this end.
Improve data privacy awareness to keep students safe
Protecting student data should be a top priority for any school. But without a solid understanding of privacy awareness, children can become easy prey for bad actors impersonating class members or teachers in phishing attempts. Students may also let their security software lapse or use completely undefended devices. Both can lead to troubling long-term consequences like identity left.
Students deserve to feel safe completing their schoolwork online without worrying that their identities could be stolen. Once armed with sensitive information like a student’s personal details, their credit can be ruined before they’re even of age to take out a loan, negatively impacting their lives for the long term.
Educate students on cybersecurity to build skills for the careers of the future
The future of work is contingent on technology, arguably making cybersecurity training the most important element of working with said tech.
Traditionally, education systems have fallen behind here. Students are continually graduating without the necessary cyber awareness needed to support their tech-fueled careers. In fact, according to one study, global IT security skills shortages have surpassed four million in the last couple of years.
As technology like automation continues to evolve, so will the online threats that plague it. Knowing how to work with advancing tech while keeping yourself – and your future employer – safe is an invaluable skill that students need to cultivate now.
Historically, youth haven’t always been good at understanding how the decisions they make now will impact them down the line. With covert cyberthreats increasing in number and sophistication, schools must step up to help them consciously guard their futures.
What to do next?
Educating and training your students, ensuring they stay cyber safe is a huge task. Unsure on where to start? Need training of your own, before passing on that knowledge? Sweethaven can help. For more information, please get in touch using the form below. Alternatively, give us a call on 01737 228 208.
