Sparking Cybersecurity Learning at the Boys and Girls Club
10/27/2017 12:00:00 AM
October 27, 2017
Leadership from Minnesota IT Services and the Minnesota Department of Education engage with kids on Internet safety during Cybersecurity Awareness Month
St. Paul, MN: Minnesota students are surrounded by technology. Whether it’s in the classroom, at home, or interacting online – we are becoming an ever more connected society. Educating our youth about ways in which they can stay safe online and support a safe online environment for all is critically important.
Minnesota IT Services and the Minnesota Department of Education led interactive event about Internet safety at the Boys & Girls Club – Mt. Airy location as part of Cybersecurity Awareness Month in Minnesota. The event focused on helping students, families and all Minnesotans use the Internet safely and securely, and engaged students in creating messages and images to communicate to their peers the importance of staying safe online. Some of the skills students and families can build to stay safe online include managing settings on social networking sites, preventing cyber-bullying, protecting against viruses, and practicing good cyber-ethics. Approximately 40 students from 27 different schools participated in the event.
“The Internet is a dynamic and exciting place to explore, but it has a dark side, too,” said Minnesota’s Chief Information Security Officer, Chris Buse. “Learning about Internet safety and best practices early on is crucial to keeping kids and their families from becoming victims down the road.”
“It’s never too early to talk to children about staying safe online. Kids today are growing up with the Internet already playing a strong role in their lives – they use it to play games or help with homework, so it’s our responsibility to make sure they’re prepared to use it safely,” said Deputy Commissioner Charlene Briner.
At the Boys & Girls Club – Mt. Airy location, youth from 3rd through 8th grades played games – one in which they took on roles as Trojans, firewalls, hackers, and anti-virus software ricocheting around a “computer system” – to better understand how security software and hardware works to protect their computing devices that are connected to the Internet. While the students learned about the different types of risks and cyberattacks that could harm their computers, they also spent some time talking about how to safeguard against malicious individuals (cyberbullies and predators) online.
"They say actions hurt more, but words have a bigger effect. Words do hurt, we need to stay safe on the internet," said Jayla Seacer, an 8th grade student from Saint Paul.
Minnesota IT Services works to protect citizen’s personal information and keep state systems running. Minnesota students and families can /mnit/about-mnit/security/index.jspvisit the MNIT website to get tips and learn more about cybersecurity best practices.
Minnesota IT Services, led by Minnesota’s Chief Information Officer, is the Information Technology agency for Minnesota’s executive branch, providing enterprise and local IT services to over 70 agencies, boards and commissions. Minnesota IT Services builds, maintains, and secures the State’s IT infrastructure, applications, projects and services. We work to set IT strategy, direction, policies and standards for enterprise IT leadership and planning. We also serve Minnesotans by connecting all 87 counties, 300 cities, and 200 public higher education campuses across the state on the MNET network. Through public-private partnerships, our team proactively protects the state’s information systems and the private data of 5.5 million Minnesotans.
Led by Commissioner Dr. Brenda Cassellius, the Minnesota Department of Education is an innovative agency serving a wide range of customers: approximately 850,000 K-12 students and their families; 118,000 young children participating in a variety of early learning programs including Head Start and ECFE; 82,000 adult learners participating in adult education programs including GED and citizenship programs; Minnesota’s 339 school districts and over 52,000 licensed teachers.
The Boys and Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities serve over 11,000 youth at nine Twin Cities’ locations. The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens. The Clubs represent more than 80 years of service to youth. Dedicated staff at nine metro-area locations and a rural camp provide activities and support to more than 11,000 young people from kindergarten through high school graduation. Club sites are placed in targeted neighborhoods where the need is greatest.
###
Cybersecurity
