Kaspersky: Filipino educators, students need basic cybersecurity hygiene to increase resilience online

In partnership with the Department of Education (DepEd), Kaspersky recently conducted a workshop on basic cyber hygiene for educators from 71 public schools in Valenzuela City to arm them with knowledge to effectively help their students become cyber-resilient.

Cyber-resiliency is the ability to recognize, behave, and bounce back from a cyber threat or cyber incident.

The initiative is part of Kaspersky's commitment to create a cyber-immune community by extending the company's expertise in educating and training the public.

From a Kaspersky research, here's what's going on with children these days:

• 73% of teenagers can't imagine life without a smartphone and half of them take their phone to bed
• 44% of kids 8 to 16 are always online, preferring to consumer entertainment and social media apps
• 40% of children reveal sensitive information online, including their home address
• A third of young people lie about their age online
• 37% of kids have experienced online dangers, including bullying, financial threats, and inappropriate content

In a more recent report, Kaspersky revealed that the most popular online games for 3-16-year-old children that are exploited by cybercriminals are Minecraft, Animal Crossing, and Roblox.

The introductory cybersecurity awareness and resilience training dubbed Kids' Cyber Resilience project was held in Quezon City earlier this month. This project, which aims to educate children on how to keep themselves safe online while helping them build resilience from within, is a multi-stakeholder venture with parents, educators, students, non-government organizations, and government representatives.

"Through the workshop, we will be helping educators learn about the basics of cyber hygiene and become familiarized with Kaspersky's free tools and resources for teaching online safety in the classroom with the end goal of passing on that knowledge to their students so they can navigate the digital world safely and responsibly. In this way, we help foster a digital environment that nurtures their well-being and development, contributing to healthier digital communities for our future" said Trishia Octaviano, Academic Affairs Manager for Asia Pacific at Kaspersky.

“For the past few years, online threats have become prevalent in the Philippines for kids and adults alike. The responsibility to raise cyber-resilient Filipino children has become more urgent than ever, that’s why we are happy to work with Kaspersky, a global cybersecurity firm, to educate our teachers about cyber hygiene. Our educators need such training and also the resources to teach their students about online safety. This collaboration with Kaspersky will help us bridge the knowledge and confidence gaps in teaching and in building better cybersecurity awareness,” Mr.Noel D. Bagano, Officer-in-Charge, Office of the Schools Division Superintendent – Valenzuela, Department of Education.

A similar project was also launched by Kaspersky in Singapore last March 2023.

To know more about this project, visit: https://academy.kaspersky.com/events/