You can play a powerful role in helping your local community be safer and more secure online. The National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) has a library of free materials, tools and information that can be used to easily teach online safety in your community. You can commit 10 minutes or 10 years to the cause. To make it easy, we have included a few suggestions to get you started.
What you can do:
- Download, print and distribute STOP. THINK. CONNECT.™ tip sheets and other resources at your local community center.
- If your community center has shared computers or wireless networks, download and share this tip sheet on how to best protect personal information.
- Talk to community members about best security practices for email, social media and/or online transactions. Highlight STOP. THINK. CONNECT.™ tips and advice.
- Volunteer at a local school, after-school program, boys and girls club, church group, senior care facility or faith-based organization to teach kids and/or adults about online safety and privacy. Send messages on community listservs and share NCSA’s security and privacy resources to spread the word.
- Host a cybersecurity event for community members to discuss smart computer practices and online security measures, leveraging resources provided by the National Cyber Security Alliance.
- Promote National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM) each October and Data Privacy Day (DPD) (Jan. 28) by sharing posters, buttons, social media icons and other promotional materials, registering yourself and/or your organization as a NCSAM or DPD Champion, attending or hosting events or accessing our cybersecurity awareness and privacy resources.
Materials to help you do it:
- C-SAVE has a full set of materials to make your volunteer experience as seamless as possible. To meet the developmental abilities of various age groups, NCSA has created materials targeted at three age groups: grades K-2, grades 3-5 and middle school/high school. For each group we have designed an hourlong class session and provided all of the materials to support the classroom activities. C-SAVE resources can be found here.
- Everyone has a role to play in helping to make the internet safer. Share this poster/infographic with kids to help them understand how they can be good digital citizens.
- Visit the NCSAM and DPD Get Involved pages for ideas on supporting these campaigns and promoting online safety. And subscribe to the cybersecurity and privacy newsletter for updates on the latest ways to get involved.