Keeping safe
Biggest cyber challenges facing Australia ’ s schools this year .
By Erin Nixon
New artificial technology tools and the rapidly developing social media landscape puts schools under pressure to protect student data , according to cyber experts .
Education Review spoke with Grok Academy ’ s Lead Educator Owen Brasier about cyber challenges and opportunities facing schools in 2023 .
ER : What is eSafety and how does it impact Australian schools ? OB : Simply put , eSafety is about learning to navigate the online world with confidence .
We ’ re tracking a rising trend in online scams seeking to collect Personally Identifiable Information ( PII )— particularly targeting teenagers and seniors .
Now is more important than ever to educate the community on eSafety , including what information people are sharing online and how it can be used .
The earlier we can provide education on identifying these threats and actioning the appropriate response like deleting an email , not clicking on unfamiliar links , informing the appropriate people or entities , the better .
Overall , Australian ’ s are becoming more aware of how their personal information could be stolen . Thanks partly to recent media coverage of large-scale data breaches like Medibank and Optus .
However , much of the community still doesn ’ t fully understand the consequences of sharing PII on social media platforms .
Even people on top of their social media security settings are vulnerable to being hacked and having their PII scraped to create ‘ spoof ’ accounts .
These hoax accounts are easily created by stealing someone ’ s profile image and other personal information to create fake accounts .
Almost all Australians interact in a digital environment on a daily basis . Which is why early intervention and engagement with eSafety is key to keeping the online identities of Australian ’ s safe - now and into the future .
What are schools currently doing to protect student data ? State departments have stringent information sharing policies and security measures regarding how schools and organisations host and protect PII .
Implementation Readiness Assessments ( IRAs ) provide additional assurance to State Departments on how organisations handle data for public school students , educators and school leaders .
Public school IT systems , and the data shared within them , are managed centrally through the Department of Education for each state .
Most private schools purchase systems from external providers that protect student data .
The Catholic school system is different in that all Catholic Diocese join together in a shared network infrastructure .
Additionally , many schools are using tools like Google Classroom , which has stringent security protocols to protect user data .
Why do you think it ’ s so important to learn about cyber security early in life ? As we move towards a world where almost everything we interact with is done through a technology lens , it ’ s important to understand how the information we share can be used .
Every person who engages with technology should be able to do so without concern that their account will be hacked or their information stolen .
It is particularly important to consider this as schools begin automating much of their processes such as , enrolments , Single Sign-On ( SSO ) and assessments .
School enrolments are a particular vulnerability with both student and parent personal data oftentimes being shared .
In addition to keeping PII safe and reducing the risk of being scammed , cyber security is currently one of the biggest growth industries in Australia .
The Australian Government ’ s investment in the future of cyber security careers through its Australian Signals Directorate ( ASD ) offers entry-level pathways into a career in cyber security .
ASD ’ s longstanding history began when it intercepted and decoded Japanese radio signals in the Second World War .
Recently , the Directorate was established as a statutory agency within the Defence Portfolio offering opportunities to Australians who are interested in pursuing a career in the industry .
What do Gen Zs know about online safety that Gen X or Baby Boomers might not ? Gen Zs are more confident than Gen X or Baby Boomers in most online situations .
Those who didn ’ t grow up with a smartphone or home computer , and are learning online skills in adulthood , can be huge targets for online scams .
For example , two years ago , Australian tech expert Alex Hope obtained former Prime Minister Tony Abbott ’ s phone number and passport details just 45 minutes after the politician shared a picture of his boarding pass on Instagram .
Sharing something so seemingly innocuous , like a picture of a boarding pass with a booking reference , can expose much more data than one might think would be possible .
This is why it ’ s imperative to embed proactive education and awareness about cyber safety and cyber security into the school context .
In broader society , the advantage of school is that we can educate students early so they ’ re confident in a digital environment now and into their careers . ■
28 | educationreview . com . au