\As a security professional, my passion is helping organizations around the world create more secure environments. As a father of three, that passion extends to kids, as well. As part of National Cyber Security Awareness Month (also now known as #CyberAware) I’m very excited to be part of RSA Conference’s CyberSafety: Kids program to help secure kids. As part of that initiative, I will be speaking the Securing Today's Online Kids webcast on Oct. 28 about what we as parents can do to keep kids secure. Here is a quick sneak peek at some of key points we will be covering in the webcast.
First and foremost, technology should not be something to fear. The Internet is a wonderful tool that enables our kids to tap into a vast wealth of knowledge, learn about a variety of topics, build a network of friends, and to interact with people and cultures around the world. The last thing we should be doing is to cut kids off from the Internet. Instead, our goal should not be to educate and mentor them on how to navigate this large and often confusing world safely and securely.
As parents, our biggest challenge is that we never grew up in the environment these kids are in today. No matter how security savvy we are now, there is still a technology gap, and we need to somehow bridge that. It's actually a lot simpler than you may think.
Our second challenge is to understand the dangers our kids face online. And there are several. To simplify these dangers I break them down into three categories; strangers, friends and themselves. On the webcast, I will explain each of these categories and give examples. We will also go over what we can do to minimize those dangers. There is one surprise. As parents, we sometimes over-emphasize the risks strangers pose to our kids, but we greatly underestimate the risks from friends, or even the kids themselves.
Ultimately, the goal of the webcast is to arm parents with the knowledge and steps they can take so kids can safely and securely take advantage of everything technology has to offer. If you haven't already registered, sign up now to join me and the rest of the RSA Conference team on Oct. 28, 1pm ET/10am PT.
RSA Conference has several other events during the month, including a TweetChat on Oct. 15. We also have a number of videos on the CyberSafety:Kids page if you want to check out how other security professionals are doing their part. Keep an eye out for other messages from @RSAConference this month. We are also always open to hearing your ideas, so let us know on the I'm In, RU? page!
--Lance Spitzner is the research and community director of SANS Securing the Human