Edu bits
Cyberbullying, fake news, and access to personal data through various deception strategies are increasingly common on the Internet. This is revealed by the survey information of more than 17,000 people in 2020; the results are shared on the site U-Report México Tu Voz Cuenta (your voice counts). According to figures from INEGI (2022), there are 84.1 million internet users in Mexico, of which 30.2% (25.4 million) are young people between 12 and 24 years old. The digital vulnerability of this population sector is one of the most worrying issues. Although they grew up using new technologies and might feel immune to the dangers on the Internet, their knowledge is more oriented to entertainment and socialization, while in security matters, they do not necessarily take the proper precautions. Their strategies to face the challenges of safe use of the network are poorly developed.
In addition, many young people spend most of their connected time without monitoring their internet activities. Therefore, the chances of being crime victims are very high, which can trigger conditions such as stress, anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, anger, and irritability, among others (Rodríguez de Dios et al., 2016).
“Digital Security for Everyone is a free course on data protection, digital identity, privacy, sexting, cyberbullying, etc., to acquire basic knowledge and use the Internet safely.”
Despite all efforts, high-risk behaviors in cyberspace continue to prevail, mainly because a culture of cybersecurity has not been fully developed, as evidenced by the survey’s main findings. (U Report, 2020):
56% are unaware of what a virus or malicious code is.
70% do not know how to identify infections on their cell phones or computers.
25% never or rarely update their computer.
30% download files from unsafe sites.
67% are unaware of double authentication processes.
13% always or frequently connect to public Wi-Fi networks.
31% save their passwords on paper, and 20% in mobile notes.
19% maintain their social networks for public access.
28% always or very often accept strangers on social networks.
38% do not know their rights regarding using personal data on the internet.
22% share news after only reading the title.
18% do not check the sources of news stories.
57% do not know how to detect fake news.
63% have sexted.
29% have been pressured to submit sexual content.
17% of people who sexted did so with strangers.
57% of people who did not sext received messages without consent.
47% have been victims of cyberbullying.
72% of cyberbullying occurs through social networks.
43% of bullies are strangers.
These situations became more noticeable during the COVID-19 pandemic’s social distancing as people moved their work, academic, and recreational environments to virtual spaces to continue their daily activities. Many had to learn to use internet-based technological tools. While this migration allowed them to acquire digital knowledge capital, it also exposed them to unknown risks. This lesson teaches that it is not enough to know how to use devices and applications, but it is necessary to know how to face the inherent dangers of browsing the internet, where communication and data exchange platforms must be cautiously utilized to guarantee the safety of users (Tomczyk, 2019).
Digital security must be regarded as a discipline that protects digital information assets in a culture of cybersecurity. Identifying and knowing how to treat threats to information processed, stored, and transported by interconnected systems can minimize the risks to which users are exposed, including identity theft, fake news, and unwanted material. Digital security is geared toward both systems and users; it incorporates the ability to manage, avoid, and limit the dangers of digital threats (Ghafir et al., 2018).
Global attention to the issue of digital security is increasing. However, many academic programs developed by educational institutions focused on this topic are optional or only oriented to computer science careers. Even though new technologies already have a presence in many professions and activities, there is a deficit in users’ knowledge and the skills they should have to reduce network dangers (Wang & Zhou, 2017). Thus, due to cybersecurity ignorance, young people continue to be exposed to the risks. In the best of cases, they are forced to seek reliable alternatives on their own to acquire the necessary skills.
Given these needs, researchers from the Educational Innovation Group in Development and Use of Technology in Education (DUTE) at Tecnologico de Monterrey implemented a strategy to strengthen digital security skills in young people through a self-directed and free online course, which includes videos, infographics, forums, downloadable activities, and files. This modality was selected for its overall success in recent years because it presents an alternative training in the times and schedules decided by the participant. Three and a half months after its launch, the course has exceeded three thousand registrations, has a rating of 4.11/5.00, participants from 56 countries, and speakers of 14 languages (see Image 1).
Image 1. Locations and languages of the students (Udemy, 2022).
Due to its acceptance rate, the decision was made to relaunch this course and expand the contents to include the topics of digital citizenship, knowledge construction, digital identity, privacy, sexting, cyberbullying, and data protection, which have proven to be fundamental for digital security. The course lasts approximately three hours, is free, open to the general public, encourages autonomous learning, has no limit to the number of participants, is accessed through the internet, has no knowledge prerequisites, and students can advance at their own pace.
The “Digital Security for All” course is hosted on the popular and easily accessible Udemy platform. It is a learning option for anyone who wants to acquire the basic knowledge to use the internet safely. Although this course can be considered the first line of defense against network risks, it is necessary to stay updated by acquiring new knowledge because new digital threats arise daily. The best way to avoid becoming a victim is awareness and knowing how to react to them.
It is impossible to avoid the dangers of internet use and exposure, nor is it feasible to restrict the use of emerging technologies, which could lead to digital exclusion. Therefore, prevention measures must include developing users’ literacy in digital security. With good training in this subject, they can develop the necessary knowledge to face digital threats in an era where technologies are indispensable for active participation in society.
Francisco Javier Rocha Estrada
Doctoral student in Educational Innovation. Member of the subgroup Development and Use of Technology in Education (DUTE) of the Educational Innovation Group.
Carlos Enrique George Reyes
Leader of the subgroup of Development and Use of Technology in Education (DUTE) of the Educational Innovation Group. Professor of the Master’s Degree in Educational Entrepreneurship.
Leonardo David Glasserman Morales
Director of the Master’s Degree in Educational Entrepreneurship. Member of the subgroup Development and Use of Technology in Education (DUTE) of the Educational Innovation Group Adjunct Researcher of the Interdisciplinary Research Group (IRG) for Reasoning for Complexity (R4C) of the Institute for the Future of Education.
Ghafir, I., Saleem, J., Hammoudeh, M., Faour, H., Prenosil, V., Jaf, S., Jabbar, S., & Baker, T. (2018). Security threats to critical infrastructure: the human factor. The Journal of Supercomputing, 74(10), 4986-5002. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11227-018-2337-2
Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática (2022). Estadísticas a propósito del día mundial del internet (17 de mayo). https://www.inegi.org.mx/contenidos/saladeprensa/aproposito/2022/EAP_Internet22.pdf
Rodríguez de Dios, I., Igartua, J., & González, A. (2016). Development and validation of a digital literacy scale for teenagers. ACM International Conference Proceeding Series, 1067-1072. https://doi.org/10.1145/3012430.3012648
Tomczyk, L. (2019). What do teachers know about digital safety? Computers in the Schools. 36(3), 167-187. https://doi.org/10.1080/07380569.2019.1642728
U Report (2020). Ciberseguridad. https://mexico.ureport.in/opinion/4746/
Wang, J., & Zhou, H. (2017). Embedding Information Security Literacy in College Education. International Conference on Social science, Education and Humanities Research (ICSEHR 2017), 48-51. Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/10.2991/icsehr-17.2017.12
Edited by Rubí Román ([email protected]) – Editor of Edu bits articles and Webinars “Learnings that inspire” – Observatory of the Institute for the Future of Education at Tec de Monterrey
Translation by Daniel Wetta.
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