With the advent of the digital revolution, education has been transformed to the extent that it is difficult to imagine the previous scenario. Today, the classrooms are not limited only to black boards, chalks and books, but extend up to smart boards, smart phones, laptops, digital classrooms, Learning Management System, Artificial Intelligence, Virtual classrooms, Virtual labs and Virtual collaboration platforms. Our students are born into this digital age, often referred to as "digital natives," while educators are increasingly weaving technology into the fabric of their pedagogy.
With the advent of technology, however, the whole education sector has been exposed to a number of cyber risks.
It is no more a fact that cyber crimes are associated with only government agencies, banking organizations, or multinational companies. Each and every individual who possesses a smart phone, uses an online platform for studying, or uses school computers to connect on the internet becomes a target for the criminals in cyberspace. Phishing, identity theft, cyber bullying, fake websites, cyber scams, financial frauds, misinformation and cyber breach of privacy and security are common terms in today’s era. However, the question is whether or not the educational system is well equipped with the knowledge to use the technology safely.
In order to get the insight of this matter, I recently did an online survey amongst 250 students, teachers and educationists of Government and private schools in District Rajouri, Jammu & Kashmir. The aim of this survey was to get an idea about the level of cyber hygiene and cybersecurity awareness in our educational institutions. This survey has brought some promising and some alarming information to our educators, parents and the policy makers.
The survey consisted of people belonging to diverse educational backgrounds. The students were 61.2 percent of the total respondents whereas the teachers constituted 36.8 percent of the total respondents. Most significantly, the respondents of the survey comprising over 70 percent had been collected from rural schools indicating the expansion of the reach of digital education even in the remotest areas of Rajouri district. Over 77 percent of the total respondents were from the government schools.
Amongst the positive results of this research is the fact that the awareness regarding basic cyber hygiene has improved a lot. Most participants admitted practicing good cyber hygiene by using complex passwords, protecting their OTPs, being careful about any suspicious links, and updating their digital devices. All this indicates a good sign since the mentioned practices serve as the foundation for cyber protection.
At the same time, the research shows that mere awareness is not enough. One out of every four respondents had doubts in terms of how to deal with complicated phishing emails, fraudulent websites, malicious applications, and online fraud. In addition, some participants noted that they were unaware of the proper mechanism that should be used to report cyber incidents or seek help in case of cyberbullying. This gap in awareness is worth taking seriously.
Currently, technology develops at an outstanding pace. However, the skills of cyber criminals develop even faster. Nowadays, there is no point in counting badly written emails and scams as cyber attacks. Today's cyber attacks make use of Artificial Intelligence, social engineering, clones websites, false customer care number and deceptive mobile applications for the purpose of manipulating the user to get confidential information. Even educated people can be tricked by those kinds of attacks.
In addition, the results of the research conducted in Rajouri district prove that digital access has expanded really quickly among rural educational institutions. Currently, students from distant villages take part in online classes, submit homework and participate in virtual competitions. They get access to educational content through their smartphones. Such an expansion is a great step in making education inclusive. However, increased connectivity brings along more responsibility.
Therefore, the practice of cyber hygiene is to be regarded as an important life skill. In addition, the issue of cyber hygiene needs to be considered as seriously as the one of personal hygiene; children learn to wash their hands, put on seatbelts, and obey road safety rules in order to avoid physical harm. Likewise, it is necessary to form the habit of creating passwords, enabling multi-factor authentication, checking website URLs, refraining from downloading unknown applications, installing updates and backups, as well as securing personal data in order to prevent cyber incidents and minimize digital vulnerability.
Schools have a distinctive role in shaping these habits. Education at the modern stage is no longer associated only with academic success but also with preparation of responsible citizens who will be able to function in the digital world. It is vital to combine the knowledge in terms of digital literacy with the knowledge related to cybersecurity. In other words, students might be aware of how to find some information or to operate a certain device, but they should also be aware of how to keep themselves safe from being manipulated, cyberbullied, misled, financially defrauded, or having an identity stolen online.
In turn, teachers are the most significant agents of this change. According to the results of the research, although teachers usually demonstrate higher cybersecurity awareness than students, most of them lack training in cyber hygiene education. With the further development of technology, professional development programmes should include cybersecurity issues. A digitally competent teacher will help students not only to make correct use of technology but also to use it appropriately and responsibly.
Finally, parents involvement cannot be neglected. In the modern family, smartphones have already become not only learning but also entertaining tools. Parents should foster an environment of open dialogue regarding responsible use of the internet, personal security online, polite interaction, and reporting suspicious digital behaviour. This way, a lot of problems of children could be avoided.
Educators and policymakers must also be proactive in dealing with the situation. Each school needs to formulate its cyber safety policies covering responsible use of devices, netiquette, privacy, cyberbullying and procedures for reporting cyber incidents. Cybersecurity awareness training should not be limited to seminars and annual observances only. It has to be integrated into school life through classroom discussions, campaigns, demonstrations, quizzes, poster contests and establishment of Cyber Safety Clubs by students.
Cyber hygiene training within school education cannot be seen as an option anymore; it is a need of today's education system. As much as environmental education, health education, computer education and road safety are included in the curriculum of schools, cybersecurity education is also a necessary component. Introduction of age-appropriate cyber hygiene modules can make students able to safely interact in cyberspace.
The recommendations from this research would also compel educational administrators to increase district-level efforts in terms of cyber awareness promotion. This can be done through collaborative efforts of schools, police, cybersecurity experts, institutions of higher education and civil society organizations. Regular training programmes, cyber awareness campaigns and workshops can greatly increase the cyber resilience of institutions of learning.
Rajouri district has always shown the ability to rise above the limitations imposed by geography and development constraints. At this time, there is a chance for Rajouri district to become an example of promotion of cyber-safe schools. The inclusion of cybersecurity awareness into the education process will enable generation of responsible citizens.
The digital future of India, in addition to innovations in technology, also depends on responsible use of digital resources. Each created secure password, ignored suspicious messages, updated software and each cyber threat reported adds up to a more secure digital world. Technology itself cannot provide for the security of our future; the users themselves should be informed.
The conducted survey in the schools of Rajouri has clearly demonstrated it. The students and teachers have become more aware about the issues of cyber hygiene but this awareness needs to transform into a practice. Cybersecurity is not the goal attained during one session or another; it is the process of constant education and vigilance.
Following our path to the digital empowerment of India, let us remember that the most reliable firewall is not the software nor hardware; it is the aware, informed and responsible user. Creating such citizens starts with the schools. If we are really striving to achieve a more secure digital future, cyber hygiene has to become the new literacy of the twenty-first century.
(The author is a Lecturer in the School Education Department, Jammu & Kashmir, National ICT Awardee, J&K UT Best Teacher Awardee, and Member of the Divisional Advisory Committee, Cyber Hygiene Cell).
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