For this month's column we focus on the idea of cyber literacy. Originally this type of literacy was defined as being able to find information on the Internet. In today's climate of cybersecurity, cyber stalking, digital citizenship, cyberbullying, and being a good cyber citizen, we wanted to look at cyber literacy in a different way. By being cyber literate, students and faculty in our learning communities will further understand what it means to be safe and proactive in a cyber environment.

Digital Citizenship

When we talk about being a good digital citizen, we are typically discussing the skills and knowledge it takes to use the Internet and other types of digital tools and technology. Digital citizenship has the potential to go much further. We as librarians can engage with students, showing them not only how to be good digital citizens but also how to leverage their power as online citizens. If done correctly, our students, peer educators, and administrators can learn to engage with digital media in a way that strengthens social justice and equity. Strong digital citizens use their online skills in political arenas in the areas of equality and sustainability (Kreuger 2017).

Cybersecurity

Being safe and secure online is an important step in being cyber literate. Common threats that face K–12 schools and districts are (REMS 2018):

Data Breach: A data breach is a leak of sensitive or protected date. It is important to remind patrons to never give out personal information (name, address, phone number, school) through email, Twitter, and other social media tools. Help those in our learning communities to understand strong passwords and the consequences of oversharing online.

Phishing Scams: Phishing is when an email is sent falsely claiming to be a person or an organization in efforts to get personal or confidential information. Typically, information sought will be passwords, credit card information, and/or bank accounts. These emails often direct users to a fake website. Always report scam emails or documents to your IT department.

Malware: Malware is software that will damage or disable computers or entire systems. This can come in the form of downloads. This is why downloading to public computers and 1:1 devices can be an issue and open computers/systems and devices up to malware threats.

Software Vulnerabilities: Vulnerabilities can occur when software is old or when it hasn't been updated.

Removeable Media: Thumb drives, CDs, DVDs, and other external drives can create issues for cybersecurity. These devices can be corrupted and infect computers and sometimes entire systems.

Tools and Resources

Cyber Security Awareness Month—https://www.dhs.gov/national-cyber-security-awareness-month: Happening every October, National Cybersecurity Awareness Month occurs as an annual initiative to offer awareness in the importance of cybersecurity. This site offers a toolkit (broken down by grade level), resources, and information to host your own cybersecurity event.

Homeland Security. #BeCyberSmart—https://www.dhs.gov/be-cyber-smart: The Department of Homeland Security offers videos, lessons, and information on being cyber smart. Some examples of lessons currently include wi-fi safety, multi-factor authentication, app sharing, oversharing, phishing, and device protection.

NICCS. Integrating Cybersecurity in the Classroom—https://niccs.us-cert.gov/formal-education/integrating-cybersecurity-classroom#: Created by the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies, this page provides project-based curricula, summer programs, student resources, and professional development for librarians and their peer educators in STEM, computer science, and science.

CyberPatriot—https://www.uscyberpatriot.org/: A national youth cyber education program that hopes to inspire young people toward careers in cybersecurity and other areas of STEM and engineering. CyberPatriot also hosts the National Youth Cyber Defense Competition. The competition pits teams of middle and high school students against each other in a series of rounds in which they play the role of IT professionals managing a small company network, finding security vulnerabilities, protecting the system, and maintaining services.

Works Cited

Kreuger, Nicole. "Digital Citizenship Is the New Citizenship." ISTE (September 14, 2017). https://www.iste.org/explore/articleDetail?articleid=1052&category=Digital-citizenship&article

REMS. "Cybersecurity Considerations for K-12 Schools and School Districts." Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools, Technical Assistance Center, 2018. https://rems.ed.gov/docs/Cybersecurity_K-12_Fact_Sheet_508C.pdf