Recently, I was asked for an Internet Safety presentation for a scout troop.  It occurred to me that the approach for an Internet Safety Presentation for children can be a bit daunting in a world where it’s possible, if not probable, that the audience is more tech savvy than the presenters.  The Internet today is different even for younger families who must be aware that “online” is much more than spending time on the computer and traditional PC controls and monitors are not sufficient; online can be game machines, phones, or even an alarm clock (anyone else remember the Chumby?)  A check on my own home router showed over 2 dozen internet connected devices!  Much like a large metropolitan city, the Internet is an amazing place with some of the finest examples of our culture, available at the click of a button or swipe of a few gestures.  It is also home to a plethora of material that is not appropriate for all ages, creeds, or cultures.  One would likely never drop their child off in a big city and expect them to explore it unprotected and remain safe.

Bilateral education and communication is key; continual conversations about what is appropriate, what is not appropriate, and what dangers to look out for should be mixed with a genuine understanding of the technology and applications that are being used.  Just like the real world, educate children on how there are bad people in the world while taking the time to understand from them what the real world influences are that are impacting their safety.  Ensure they are comfortable talking to you about risks and that you are comfortable asking them to explain to you about the technologies they are using.  There are many resources available for Internet Safety, some are better than others.  Here is a short list of some useful resources that are particularly helpful:

1. Protect your home. It’s not enough to simply protect the home computer anymore, protecting your network at the router helps protect all of the devices in your home.  Open DNS (http://www.opendns.com) is a great free service that is simple to set up and use; it is excellent for filtering and protecting against malicious interweb (website) activity and other internet services.  Secure The Human (http://securethehuman.org) has a great infographic with a lot of helpful tips for securing the home:
2. Educate each other. McAfee (yes, the anti-virus guys) has a service, InternetSafety.com (http://www.internetsafety.com/internet-safety-presentations.php) with a good Internet Safety presentation that is age-appropriate for teens and tweens.  Use this to present to a group of children or young adults and couple it with this presentation from (ISC^2), an organization focused on educating security professionals,  for their parents:https://www.isc2cares.org/uploadedFiles/wwwisc2caresorg/Content/top-ten-tips.pdf
3. Get professional help. Safe and Secure Online (https://www.isc2cares.org/safe-and-secure/) is a partnership with Childnet International and is a valuable collection of resources that can be tapped to bring certified, accredited, and screened information security experts into classrooms or groups.  It’s a volunteer program where professional security volunteers visit school classrooms or community organizations as guest speakers, teaching children ages 7-14 about online safety and responsibility.   You can get an information security expert by signing up at their website who will spend about an hour at no charge to teach students and their parents how to be “educated, responsible digital citizens.” The (ISC)² Safe and Secure Online (SSO) program can gear their instruction to groups of children ages 7-10, 11-14, or even their parents.