By REBECCA RUTHERFORD
For the Los Alamos Daily Post

October is:

A. National Cheese Awareness Month

B. National Cats are Awesome Month

C. National Cybersecurity Awareness Month

D. National Bat Awareness Month

…If you guessed “C.” good job! October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, in fact this year marks the 20th anniversary of this event.

Keeping your kids safe in the physical world is easy, but what about cyberspace? Do your kids have the tools they need to be secure online? One of the most important things you can do as a parent is to give your child a solid education in cyber awareness, and there’s no better time to start than now.

Your kids don’t need to know how to maintain a next generation firewall, or how to fine tune the router, but they do need a basic awareness of cybersecurity, what it means, and how to stay safe online. You can start age appropriate cyber awareness at any age, and teach them important skills like, how to secure online passwords, securing private information, and responsible internet usage.

One of many reasons cyber awareness is important is cyberbullying. The internet allows people to act out on their basest instincts, things you would never say in person become easy to say in online forums.  Teach your kids about cyberbullying and how to recognize it and react so that they can handle it if it becomes an issue. The CyberSmile foundation is a great resource if your kid is facing cyberbullying, as well as the StopBullying.gov site.

Another reason why cyber awareness is so important is online predators. Kids need to be aware that they may be targeted, and what to do if this happens. Also make sure your kids are aware of inappropriate content, and what to do if they encounter anything that seems off. The FBI offers some great resources for educating kids about this.

Making sure kids are aware of the latest cyber scams and threats is important, kids need to know what phishing, vishing (phish by voice call), smishing (phish via text message) and other scams are and how to avoid them, just like parents do.

Here are some of the best educational websites for kids to learn how to be cyber safe online:

• National Cyber Security Center (NCSC): Valuable tips to ensure you are taking all necessary steps to safeguard your family’s online presence.
• Wizer-Training.com: Cybersecurity website focused on educating people about online security. It provides valuable information and resources to help people stay informed about the latest trends in cyber threats.
• Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force : This dedicated task force offers a comprehensive range of resources and information to empower individuals with knowledge about the dangers and challenges in the digital world.
• Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI): The institute is dedicated to creating a safer online environment for kids and their families. By advocating for online security, FOSI strives to ensure that the online world is a secure and positive space for all.
• Be internet Awesome : A fun and engaging program developed by Google that instills online safety learning in children through interactive games and lessons, plus a variety of valuable resources for parents and educators.
• OnGuardOnline.gov : This FTC sponsored site offers games and videos for kids and teens about cyber awareness and education.

Your level of comfort with your child’s online presence depends on your family, but some recommendations are:

• Consider establishing time limits for internet usage.
• Monitor social media access, encourage them to think before they share, and to keep their social media accounts set to private.
• Social media sites can be gateways to let all kinds of scammers and worse into their lives, remind them that stranger danger isn’t just IRL (in real life) it’s online too. If someone they don’t know is messaging them, they should let an adult know.
• Remind kids to protect their PII (personally identifiable information) and other private information online, don’t enter your email address and birthday into every site that requests it!
• Nudes- it will happen, talk to your kids about it, make sure they are aware of the risks they can run into by sharing risque pictures online. Not only can it sometimes break the law, it can lead to cyberbullying and other problems.
• If you are really concerned, consider parental filtering and monitoring tools like NortonFamily, etc.  
• Remember that most cell phones, whether Android or Apple, come with parental controls built in.

In today’s world, kids need to be cyber aware just as much, if not more so, than their parents. There are way too many threats out there for you to ignore your child’s cyber education. They need to be aware, and be suspicious, so they can avoid falling into cyber traps. There’s no better time to start educating them than now!

Editor’s note: Rebecca Rutherford works in information technology at Los Alamos National Laboratory.