With school holidays well underway, kids are spending more time online gaming, talking with friends, and posting on social media.

It is an excellent time for parents and carers to teach or remind their children of cyber security behaviours. Remind them to take a moment and check if they know the person they are engaging with online and if they don’t, they should not provide any personal details and ask for guidance.

The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) has released the Kids Cyber Security Checklist for parents and carers. It helps them teach their primary school-aged children the basic cyber security steps to stay secure online.

Parents and carers

The internet has enabled kids to learn, share and create more easily. But it has also become a space for cybercriminals to cause trouble and steal information from others. It’s vital to instil cyber secure behaviours early, so children learn how to identify cyber threats and mitigate against them.

The ACSC’s Kids Cyber Security Checklist provides simple tips for primary school-aged children about the basic cyber security steps to stay secure online.

The ACSC’s Kids Cyber Security Checklist is available at: https://www.cyber.gov.au/cyber-security-kids.

Use the ACSC’s learning resources:

Help create a more secure online environment for children by using these easy-to-follow guides, including:

• Kid’s Cyber Security Checklist
• Cyber Security Instruction Manual: A Kid’s Guide to Using the Internet Securely
• Cyber Security Poster for Kids
• Cyber Security colouring in sheet for Kids

What can you do?

The ACSC is encouraging Australian families to strengthen their children’s cyber security online by taking the following steps:

• Turn on automatic security updates on all devices to fix weaknesses.
• Activate Multi-Factor Authentication to add multiple layers of protection.
• Regularly back up devices to help easily restore your files in case your device is ever hacked, lost, stolen or damaged.
• Use strong passphrases to secure gaming, social media and all other accounts.
• Check settings and set portable devices to require parental approval before the software is installed. Parental controls can also be used for this purpose.
• Report and recognise scams.

Report

If you or your child receive an unusual email or message, report it. Go to Scamwatch and visit the ACSC’s ReportCyber or if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact our IT Support team on +61 (2) 6773 5000, servicedesk@une.edu.au