During the "Alternative School" Program held last week, certSIGN discussed with Second grade students at Gymnasium School no. 156, Bucharest, about the dangers that appear on the internet. The subject turned out to be of great interest to the children, as they increasingly use online games and various applications on their PCs or mobile devices.

What did the children know?

Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat – these are just some of the social apps known to the students we had the opportunity to talk to. Of course, the list is completed by Youtube and variousgames.

Although the little ones already knew that data such as name, surname, age, location / address and gender remain in the online environment – required at registration / to create accounts – they also had some "surprises." They were very interested in finding out how Internet service providers can automatically retain the exact location, password, phone content and preferences from access history.

What have they learned new?

During the 50 minutes of free talks, we highlighted a number of key issues in the area of ​​cyber security, which we believe should be known from the earliest ages, along with the access of children to the online environment.

What did the students go home with?

They kept in mind:

• to minimize the distribution of personal information, activities carried out, etc .;

• in the event of an abnormal situation / conversation, they must close the application and notify the parents;

• not to do anything online what they would not do in reality;

• the Internet does not forget, nothing is deleted here.

certSIGN, active supporter of cyber education

The introduction of cyber education in schools from primary cycles is an initiative that certSIGN is continuously supporting, a first step constituting such activities within the "Alternative School" Program, that we want to expand.

In the future, we are considering both supporting information sessions with parents and children, and creating informative materials that address the cyber threats that we are exposed to, such as online conduct rules for individual and family protection.