Find out how you can help make Every Space a Safe Space in 2023…
What is Safer Internet Day?
Safer Internet Day, a global event observed annually in February to promote a safer online world, is particularly special this year as it marks its 20th anniversary! In New Zealand, Netsafe is the proud host of the event, and today the 7th of February, they will join over 50 nations worldwide in encouraging and promoting better online experiences.
The theme of this years Safer Internet Day is: ‘Every Space a Safe Space’. This is a message Education Arcade can get behind! Over the past 5 years, we have been fiercely dedicated to our role in making online communities safer through gamified security awareness content.
Defining what a safe online space means can be difficult as our online spaces grow significantly every year. It can be helpful to define your own principals about online safety which can be applied to all aspects of your online life.
From my perspective, a safe space should be inclusive, respectful, and free from harm, and at the same time it should protect users from cyber-attacks and malicious activities. Based on this, we can define what our online safety principals could be. For example:
Be respectful online...
Being respectful online is important for both your own well-being and the well-being of others because it helps create positive and supportive online communities. When people feel respected and valued, they are more likely to participate in discussions, share their thoughts and ideas, and engage with others in a constructive manner. This can lead to the exchange of diverse perspectives and ideas, which can broaden everyone's understanding and knowledge.
Online harassment, hate speech, and bullying can have severe negative impacts on a person's mental health, making it difficult or even impossible for them to participate. If you see someone being bullied or harassed, report the problem to the platform where the behaviour is happening or encourage the person to report it to netsafe.org.nz/report
This principal not only helps us have more constructive interactions with people, but also ensures that we live our online life with a zero tolerance for online harassment.
Act with integrity...
Acting with integrity online helps create a trustworthy and reliable online environment where people can feel safe to engage with others. People with integrity are likely to be honest, transparent, and accountable for their actions.
People that lack integrity in online spaces are often there to commit online scams and fraud. Scammers take advantage of people by lying, deceit, and manipulating people to gain their trust, and then steal their personal information or money. This can be through a range of tactics such as romance scams, NFT or crypto investment scams, tech support scams and even phishing.
If we act with integrity online, it is likely that we will be able to spot scams and fraud because we will be able to recognize and avoid the suspicious behaviour more easily as it differs from our own values of integrity.
If you’re keen to level up your awareness of these online scams, scan the QR code below!
Protect yourself at all times...
Protecting yourself at all times online, simply boils down to good cyber hygiene. This is important because it helps to prevent cyber attacks and data breaches, which can result in the loss of personal information, financial loss and damage to your reputation.
Regularly updating your software, backing up important data, and being cautious of suspicious emails and links are all good practices that can help keep your information secure. But one simple way to get started with good cyber hygiene is to create a multi-layered defence around your passwords!
It may sound complicated but it’s actually really simple: Turn your password into a passphrase, update them regularly and most importantly, enable multi-factor authentication on your accounts! At Education Arcade we’ve turned these password principals into a story driven game that will coach you through the process. Check it out below!
Click here to play Brute Force:
From everyone at Education Arcade, we hope you have an awesome Safer Internet Day!