Online safety and privacy will be at the forefront as the Quebec Access to Information Commission tours the province’s secondary schools this month.
Program coordinator Isabelle Gosselin said that despite previous information campaigns school-aged children are not taking cybersecurity seriously enough. According to Gosselin three out of four children said they share passwords with friends.
“They are proud to do it,” she said. “For them, it’s proof of friendship or love.”
The commission is working to encourage young Internet users to adopt safe and responsible behaviour, particularly when it comes to privacy.
During conferences at schools, students are given a one-hour presentation using concrete examples from real-life experiences to make them aware that online security violations can happen anywhere. Among the issues discusses are identity theft, sexting, geolocation and privacy settings.
More than 32,000 students have participated in the last two years.
