October is Cyber Awareness Month!

The K-12 Cyber Awareness Month (CAM) campaign has been developed to help Ontario school boards promote safer and more secure practices across their school communities when using digital technologies and the internet by promoting best practices in cyber safety, cyber security, and online privacy in K-12.

The theme of the K-12 Cyber Awareness Month (CAM) 2023 campaign is: “Together We Rise: Cyber Heroes Unite for Online Safety!” The theme is a call to action for everyone to be vigilant in our commitment to online safety, privacy, and responsible use of digital technology, whether in class or at home.

The campaign's primary goal is to help promote safer and more secure practices across school communities when using digital technologies and the internet and encourage safe online practices at home.

We can become cyberheroes by:

• Using the internet and digital technology for good, spreading positivity and respect.
• Using AI safely and responsibly and being aware of its risks.
• 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 defence 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 promotes specific topics, and the Educational Computing Network of Ontario (ECNO) has shared different resources such as videos, posters, games, and a curated list of resources from other reputable sources that can be used in classrooms, schools and school social media.

Week 1 focuses on cyber essentials – the basics of maintaining a safe digital identity.

Week 2 focuses on building awareness of the risks of Artificial Intelligence and best practices to consider.

Week 3 is about navigating our connected worlds, such as social media and gaming.

Week 4 focuses on the importance of digital wellness, as we sometimes lose sight of the fact that we may be spending too much time online.

Week 5 will recap key themes presented during the month.

More information can be found at https://ecno.org/cyber-awareness/