Cyber Awareness

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2022 K-12 Cyber Awarness Month 2022

K-12 Cyber Awareness Calendar

The K-12 Cyber Awareness Calendar has been developed to help educate students, teachers, families and communities about the risks of using technology and the internet by promoting best practices in cyber safety, cyber security, and online privacy in K-12. Learn something new every month! Follow along with our monthly themes or download the calendar and go at your own pace.

K-12 Cyber Awareness Calendar 2022-2023

Let’s encourage everyone to be a Cyber-hero!

June 2023 - Social Media

Social Media Day June 30, 2023

Download the June Info Sheet

Going into the summer break, protect yourself and your information online
Summer is here and staying in touch with friends and family is easy using social media. it’s important to be proactive and protect yourself from the harms of social media. Social media can be used in a safe way by following some simple tips.

Tips to using social media safely

Ensure anything you post is private and can only been seen by your direct connections.
Review your privacy settings frequently – especially after an application update.
Think before you share online. Keep the following information private:
1. Personal information – Don’t share your phone number, address, or full date of birth.
2. Location – Verify you’re not sharing your location and remove geotags from older photos.
3. Life news – Post your vacation and events photos when you get back home.
4. Financial information – Don’t post any bank or purchase information online.
5. Other people’s life updates – Be careful with what you share about your friends and family. Always ask permission.

Overcoming FOMO and FOBO

Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) is the anxious feeling of not knowing what your friends have been up to and the feeling you’re not there to have fun with them.

Fear Of Being Offline (FOBO) is the anxious feeling of being disconnected with the online world.

To overcome this:

Focus on meaningful and positive friendships, face-to-face interactions and actual experiences outside of social media – like going for a hike, riding a bike or going to the movie theatre.
Know that your self-worth is not based on the number of likes you get online. Just because others get more likes does not mean they are more interesting than you.
Remember photos and videos are only only a small segment of someone else’s life and are often highly edited.
Follow people who inspire you, encourage positivity and happiness or those you could learn from! Learn to filter content that does not help your overall well-being.
If you feel uneasy, talk to a parent, friend or trusted adult.

Resources:

May 2023 - Digital Wellness

Using technology in a healthy way

Download the May Info Sheet (PDF)

Digital Wellness aims to promote healthy habits essential to using technology in ways to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Ways to improve our digital wellness

Stay active – Children and youth aged 5 to 17 years old should get 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day.
Limit recreational screen time (not school related) to no more than 2 hours per day.
Get enough sleep – Children ages 5–13 years old need 9–11 hours of sleep/night to feel refreshed while children 14–17 years old need 8-10 hours of sleep/night as part of a healthy lifestyle.
Build healthy relationships – It’s important that kids learn to engage with others and understand diverse perspectives and identities; empathize with others, listen and be respectful.
Discuss feelings about online activity – Kids are encouraged to reach out to a parent or trusted adult to discuss online activity and let them know if something is upsetting them.

Prescription: Nature

It is commonly believed that nature has a positive effect on health and leads to improvements in overall mental health, self-esteem, ability to handle stress and resiliency.

Research has found that spending two hours or more in nature per week can improve overall health and well-being.

Here are some ideas:

Unplug from technology and take a break from the screen
Go for a walk in a park or forest
Lay down in the grass and watch the clouds, listen to the sounds of nature

Getting help

Kids Help Phone provides free, 24/7 confidential support for your mental health and well-being.

Help is available online by visiting https://kidshelp-phone.ca/ or by calling 1-800-668-6868 OR texting 686868

Resources

April 2023 - Safe Gaming and the Metaverse

Identity Management Day April 12, 2023

Download the April Info Sheet (PDF)

Gaming Safely Online
Online gaming with friends can be so much fun! However, cyber criminals are using games to find ways to steal players’ personal information. Here are some tips to game safely online:

Do not use your own name, age, photo or any personally identifiable information for your avatar
Patch online games with the latest software updates and ensure anti-virus and anti-malware software is up-to-date
Choose games that are rated age appropriate – after all, the rating is there to protect you
Use a password (or a passphrase) to protect your accounts
Only use reputable sites to download games

What is the Metaverse?

The metaverse is an online world – much like the real world – where people can interact as digital characters in 3D using a virtual reality headset. Apps can be downloaded for playing games, chatting or hanging out. It sounds fun and it is. But beware of dangers in the metaverse.

Dangers of the Metaverse and How to Protect Yourself

People aren’t always who they say they are. An avatar can be anyone. Adults may pose as teens and lure you into private areas showing you graphic, inappropriate content. Approach others online with caution.

The metaverse is not moderated. It is up to the user to report uncomfortable or inappropriate content, which might include cyberbullying, racism and sexual harassment. Learn how to report such activity. Talk to a parent or a trusted adult about what to do if you get into an inappropriate or uncomfortable situation.

Tips for Parents

The metaverse is not intended for children under the age of 13 and there are no filters in place for age appropriate content.
VR applications and devices have limited parental controls. Take the time to learn about parental controls on VR/AR devices and application privacy controls.
Access to the metaverse requires a VR/AR device and therefore there is no visibility – meaning others cannot see what is happening and cannot intervene to help. Encourage open dialogue and conversations about what is happening in the metaverse.

Resources

March 2023 - Backup Your Data

Decluttering and Backing Up Your Data

Download the March Info Sheet (PDF)

Our digital life is consumed with so many activities – like browsing, chatting online and posting photos and videos. With various accounts, apps and devices within reach, our actions leave a digital footprint that makes it easier to be tracked by cyber criminals – putting our personal data at risk.

Apart from having numerous accounts and apps, we also produce a lot of data on our devices. This can cause our devices to slow down and increase our risk of losing important files along the way. To ensure our data and devices are safe, it’s important to maintain a clean digital lifestyle. This can be done by decluttering our digital space and backing up our data.

Cleanup to-do list

Here are some tips to keep your digital lifestyle clean:

Remove applications that are not in use often
Delete your phone and browser history
Review your photos and videos, erase blurry, unnecessary and duplicates ones
Archive old emails
Unsubscribe from newsletter emails you don’t read

Backup data list

Prevent unnecessary data loss by doing the following:

Review and sort your important files such as photos, videos, documents and emails routinely
Save and backup your files regularly
Consider backing up your data to an alternate location like an external hard drive or cloud storage

The importance of cleaning and backing up your data

Peace of mind: You don’t have to worry about your electronic devices failing if your files are saved in backup storage
Sufficient space: Removing unnecessary files and apps from your devices will give you more space
Secured data: Less apps and accounts means less opportunity to access your data without authorization
High performance devices: Cleaning up data on your device will improve its performance and increase the battery life
Less digital pollution: Unnecessary files and data are digital trash. Digital trash creates digital pollution that continues to consume energy. Removing digital trash helps decrease electricity use.

Resources

February 2023 - Online Grooming and Luring

Human Trafficking Awareness Day Feb 22, 2023

Download the February Info Sheet (PDF)

Online luring or grooming is when a person uses technology such as social media, gaming sites and/or chat rooms to convince children and youth to participate in sexual actions they do not want to do.

What does luring and grooming look like?

Predators may present themselves to you as a friend from school, a friend of a friend or someone you met through extracurricular activities.
They may use flattery and compliments to get you to warm up to them. Alternately, they may use intimidation, harassment and threats to control your interaction with them.
They may promise gifts like a new phone, tablet, money, drugs or alcohol.
They may empathize with a vulnerability you shared online, like a struggle you’re having at home, to build trust and comfort
They may exchange inappropriate pictures with you as a way to convince you to send inappropriate pictures or videos in return. This may lead to blackmail like threatening to send inappropriate pictures to family and friends if you don’t do what they say.

What to do if you think you’re being lured

Reach out to a trusted adult
If you need help right away, call 9-1-1
To report sex trafficking and get help, call the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline 1-833-900-1010 or visit www.canadianhumantraffickinghotline.ca

Online Safety Tips

Check friend requests and group invites before accepting them. Check if you have friends in common and don’t feel pressured to accept them.
Do not share any personal information with anyone you have only interacted with online.
Avoid posting information that may suggest problems or issues at home or school as the predator may use it to take advantage of your feelings and the situation.
If someone online is offering you something too good to be true – like money or a new phone – it probably is. Reach out to a trusted adult.
Never share your location or meet up with anyone you met online without first discussing it with a trusted adult.

Resources

January 2023 - Keep Your Information Private!

Data Privacy Week Jan 23 to 27, 2023

Download the January Infosheet (PDF)

Manage your privacy and security settings on mobile devices!

Here are some tips:

Limit personal information stored on devices.
Use strong passwords and automatic lock features to prevent unauthorized access to mobile devices.
Avoid public Wi-Fi hotspots for transactions that involve personal or financial information. Use a VPN or cellular data instead.
Only download apps from authorized sites.
Check permissions during the installation of an app. Understand what information the app can access on your device.
Frequently check your “locations” settings to understand which apps are tracking you.

“To share or not to share – that is the question”

Planning and being on vacation doing lots of fun activities can be exciting. However, wait until you return home to post any photos or videos. Announcing your trip on social media before leaving or while on vacation signals to thieves that you will not be home.

“TMI – Too much information”

It’s important to understand what type of information can be shared online. it’s okay to share your name, location and age with close friends. However, never post your address, full date of birth or geolocation publicly.

Protecting your reputation

Anything you post online or in a text message becomes part of your online identity. Here are some tips to help protect your reputation online:

The internet never forgets. Nothing is temporary. It’s important to remember this when chatting and posting online.
Check your privacy settings often and ensure your profile is set to Private. This will ensure no one outside your profile can see your posts.
Never post inappropriate or private pictures.
Never respond to inappropriate requests.
If something is bothering you, go offline, think about how you want to approach the situation and talk to a trusted adult.

Resources

December 2022 - Don’t be a victim of cyber scams and phishing!

A cyber scam is a criminal online activity designed to scam people out of money or personal information.
Download the December Infosheet (PDF)
Most Common Types of Online Scams

Phishing and Smishing is a technique to “fish” for usernames, passwords, and other sensitive information, from a “sea” of users – through emails or text messages.
- Phishing emails and smishing text messages may look like they’re from someone or a company you know or trust.
- These messages urge you to click a link, open an attachment, call a number or contact an email address.
- The victim is then tricked into providing their personal information and credentials to other websites or services.
Fake apps are apps created by cybercriminals to cause harm to users and their devices. They are designed to resemble legitimate apps but instead monitor your activity, install malware, or steal your personal information.
Websites that sell fake products. These sites offer low priced high-demand products that never arrive.
Formjacking is another scamming technique when a legitimate retail website is hacked, and shopper

How to avoid scams:

Do not open attachments, do not click links and do not respond to suspicious messages – ask questions, consult people you trust, or contact the sender using an alternative communication method
Avoid suspicious apps and deny permissions for something the app shouldn’t be doing
Always use secure sites (look for the S in https://) when shopping or logging into your accounts online
Buy products from known marketers only
Do not post personal information on social media

If you think you may be a victim of a scam:

Stop all communication with the scammer
Seek help from an adult you trust
Report the scam to your local police

Resources

November 2022 - Be Kind Online

Bullying Prevention Week Nov 20th-26th

Download the November Infosheet (PDF)

Cyber Safety Top Three Tips:

Treat others online as you would want to be treated
Stop and think before you post or send a message
Be fast to report

Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is online bullying to intimidate, hurt or humiliate someone. It can be very harmful because there is no
safe zone. It can reach you anytime and anywhere, and can quickly be seen by a lot of people.

Cyberbullying examples:

Sending mean or threatening emails or text/instant messages
Sharing an embarrassing or sexual image of someone
Pretending to be someone by using their name
Spreading hurtful gossip, secrets, rumours or lies
Ganging up on someone in a video game

It can make you:

Feel alone, sad, scared, frustrated or angry
Feel badly about yourself, your friendships, and your life
Want to avoid school, activities or anywhere else people may know you

What can you do about it?

Be kind online:

Don’t send or post anything that might hurt someone else
Treat everyone you meet online with respect

Be safe online:

Protect your privacy: use privacy settings on social media and don’t share your personal information or passwords with anyone
Know who your friends are: be careful who you accept and restrict access for friends of friends and the public
Ask for help: if you made a mistake or are worried, feel threatened, or are being cyberbullied, talk to your parents or an adult you can trust

If you are being cyberbullied:

Don’t reply with nasty messages
Block or break off contact with the person
Talk to your parents or a safe adult, your school, the site or app, or the police to get help

If you see someone else being cyberbullied:

Do not like or share messages — it can make things worse
If you know the bully and feel that it is safe to do so, tell them that cyberbullying is not okay
Talk to an adult you can trust so they can help you deal with it

Resources

October 2022 - Cyber Awareness Month

2022 K-12 Cyber Awarness Month 2022

October was Cyber Awareness Month (CAM) to Promote the Importance of Cyber Security

Students, families and staff are encouraged to view the below resources to learn best practices for cyber safety, cyber security and online privacy to ensure safer and more secure practices for school communities when using digital technologies and the internet. This information is provided by the Educational Computing Network of Ontario (ECNO) as part of the K-12 Cyber Awareness Month campaign.

Staff, educators, school leaders and students of all ages can become cyberheroes by:

Using the internet and digital technology for good, spreading positivity and respect
Watching out for and reporting questionable activities such as phishing and scams – letting others know so they don’t fall prey to the same phishing attempts and scams
Standing up for themselves and others when hurtful or inappropriate online behaviour is noticed
Keeping personal or sensitive information to themselves and continuously being thoughtful about which information to share online and with whom
Acting as a school and board cyber ally – i.e., helping the board’s IT and security team(s) by being the first line of defense in thwarting cyberattacks, being vigilant and doing their part in keeping board systems and information safe and secure
Sharing and promoting what they learn about safe and secure practices with friends and loved ones

Each week in October promoted a specific topic

Week 1 focused on social media, gaming, metaverse risks and best practices.
Week 2 focused on cyber scams and phishing risks, and what you can do to avoid being a victim.
Week 3 was about good cyber hygiene for everyone to adopt and practice.
Week 4 focused on the importance of digital wellness, as we sometimes lose sight of the fact that we may be spending too much time online.

Below are details for each of the weeks

Week 1: Social Media, Gaming and the Metaverse

Social media and online games are great ways to stay connected, interact and have fun with family and friends. It’s essential to know how to do so safely – protecting your identity and personal information.

With the increase in popularity of the Metaverse (virtual and augmented reality), interactions with others are occurring in virtual 3D worlds via avatars and technologies such as virtual reality (VR) headsets and augmented reality apps. Some of these interactions can occur in unmoderated worlds increasing the risk of youth and children being exposed to inappropriate content and interactions.

Week 1 - Social Media, Gaming and the Metaverse

Learn to be a cyberhero by:

knowing how to use social media safely
learning to spot a cyber threat on social media
staying cyber secure while playing video games
recognizing the risks of the metaverse and how to reduce them

Learn More About Social Media, Gaming & the Metaverse Cyber Security

Week 2: Cyber Scams and Phishing

Cyber criminals are always coming up with new ways to scam internet users of all ages. Their favorite techniques include phishing emails, phishing SMS or text messages (also known as “smishing”) and spoofing websites and phone numbers to try and trick us into divulging sensitive information such as our identity, personal information and account details and passwords.

Week 2 - Cyber Scams and Phishing

Learn more with these resources:

Understanding what is phishing and recognizing the red flags to smash out scams before they strike
Understanding cyber villain’s deceiving tactics and learning to spot when you are being phished (Quiz)
Recognizing fake emails
Knowing what to do with suspicious-looking messages
Teaching kids about phishing and how to avoid online scams

Week 3: Cyber Hygiene

Fortunately for everyone, we can all train ourselves to think proactively about cyber security, online safety, and privacy by establishing solid cyber hygiene practices that are as routine as brushing your teeth. Adopting thorough and accurate cyber hygiene habits can stop cyber villains in their tracks.

Week 3 - Cyber Hygiene

Learn more with these resources:

Protecting your accounts with multi-factor authentication and strong passwords or passphrases, and using a password manager to keep track of it all
Protecting your devices with antimalware and keeping software up to date
Adjusting privacy settings on devices and apps
Using secure WiFi and VPN; and
Teaching kids about good cyber hygiene

Week 4: Digital Wellness

Even with cyber powers, cyberheroes also need to take care of their personal wellbeing by knowing to rest, pause and when to limit the use of digital technology and the internet. Knowing how to moderate our own use of digital technology is something we should all learn to do.

Week 4 - Digital Wellness

Cyber awareness does not have to end in October thanks to ECNO’s K-12 Cyber Awareness Calendar! It helps educate students, teachers, families, and communities about the risks of using technology and the internet by promoting best practices in cyber safety, cyber security, and online privacy.

The Government of Canada’s Cyber Security Centre is also celebrating Cyber Month with a campaign of its own, “Fight Phishing: Ruin a Cyber Criminal’s Day!” Phishing is a cyber criminal’s attempt to get sensitive information by pretending to be a legitimate sender like a bank or a government organization. Visit the Get Cyber Safe campaign webpage to learn about the different aspects of phishing, including tips on how to protect yourself.

For additional learning, head over to the main Get Cyber Safe website for resources that help inform Canadians about cyber security and the steps they can take to protect themselves online. The page features useful information to help:

Secure Your Accounts – Keep your information from being compromised.
Secure Your Devices – Get tips to help you protect the devices you use every day.
Secure Your Connections – Protect your Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and other connections.

Board Office

Halton District School Board
J.W. Singleton Education Centre
2050 Guelph Line
Burlington, Ontario, L7P 5A8

Numbers

Phone: 905-335-3663
Fax: 905-335-9802

Links

Email Us

Cyber Awareness

K-12 Cyber Awareness Calendar

​Let’s encourage everyone to be a Cyber-hero!​​​​

Social Media Day June 30, 2023​

Tips to using social media safely​

Overcoming FOMO and FOBO​

To overcome this:​

Resources:​

Using technology in a healthy way​​

Ways to improve our digital wellness​

Prescription: Nature

Getting help

Resources​

Identity Management Day April 12, 2023​

What is the Metaverse?​​

Dangers of the Metaverse and How to Protect Yourself

Tips for Parents

Resources​

Decluttering and Backing Up Your Data

Cleanup to-do list​

Backup data list

The importance of cleaning and backing up your data​

Resources​

Human Trafficking Awareness Day Feb 22, 2023

What does luring and grooming look like?

What to do if you think you’re being lured

Online Safety Tips​

Resources​

Data Privacy Week Jan 23 to 27, 2023​

Here are some tips:​

“To share or not to share – that is the question”

“TMI – Too much information”

Protecting your reputation​

Resources​

Bullying Prevention Week Nov 20th-26th

Cyberbullying​

What can you do about it?

Resources​

October was Cyber Awareness Month (CAM) to Promote the Importance of Cyber Security

​Staff, educators, school leaders and students of all ages can become cyberheroes by:

Each week in October promoted a specific topic

Below are details for each of the weeks​

Week 1 - Social Media, Gaming and the Metaverse​

Week 2 - ​Cyber Scams and Phishing

Learn more with these resources:​

Week 3 - ​Cyber Hygiene

Learn more with these resources:​

Week 4 - ​Digital Wellness

Let’s encourage everyone to be a Cyber-hero!

Social Media Day June 30, 2023

Tips to using social media safely

Overcoming FOMO and FOBO

To overcome this:

Resources:

Using technology in a healthy way

Ways to improve our digital wellness

Resources

Identity Management Day April 12, 2023

What is the Metaverse?

Resources

Cleanup to-do list

The importance of cleaning and backing up your data

Resources

Online Safety Tips

Resources

Data Privacy Week Jan 23 to 27, 2023

Here are some tips:

Protecting your reputation

Resources

Cyberbullying

Resources

Staff, educators, school leaders and students of all ages can become cyberheroes by:

Below are details for each of the weeks

Week 1 - Social Media, Gaming and the Metaverse

Week 2 - Cyber Scams and Phishing

Learn more with these resources:

Week 3 - Cyber Hygiene

Learn more with these resources:

Week 4 - Digital Wellness