Part II: The cyber security questions parents should be asking when choosing a day care or school for their kids
When you’re looking round prospective day care centres or preschools for your child I don’t imagine the first thing on your mind is “how effective is your firewall, Linda?” You’re more likely asking “how effective are your child-caring skills, Linda?” There is a vast criteria being silently ticked off when parents look round the centres and later schools for their children and while the physical security of the place may be a brief thought, it’s doubtful that the issue of virtual security comes into play.
However, with technology becoming far more of a staple in our everyday lives, not least the places our kids are spending much of their time, it’s time we start thinking about it. I consulted once again with cyber expert, Tony Vizza, Director of Cyber Advocacy Asia Pac, ISC² to find out what questions we should be asking of our kids’ educators when it comes to educating ourselves on cyber security best practice.
The Business of Caring
What to ask the directors at day-cares, preschools, and early learning centres?
Webcams – do they have them, if so, why?
Video surveillance – how long are those cameras recording for? Where is the footage stored – locally or somewhere in the cloud?
Do they have an IT company that handles all these cyber security issues for them?
Personal records – how are they protecting that information from a cyber security perspective?
Tony explains that ultimately it comes down to making sure they’re aptly protecting the information they hold and that they’re being legitimate in their reasons. “They should be able to justify the expense around protecting that information,” he says. “If they’ve invested money in setting up their systems, they clearly care about that side of their business.”
Clear, considered responses indicate that they’ve thought about strategy and know why they’re taking measures to reinforce their cyber security. For the majority, if not all, day care centres in Australia particularly there is a prerequisite accountability with the government due to the rebate system. This in itself implies that the centre is undergoing regular checks equivalent to a restaurant maintaining its hygiene standards.
“Right now it’s buyer beware, you need to be the one asking the questions,”
Personal Records
A point that’s relevant no matter the age and educational whereabouts of your offspring; the personal records of your family are gathered in any instance where you’re handing your children’s care over to an organisation.
So what should you be asking to ensure your child’s school or centre is handling your data with care?
What sort of protection is being applied to my data?
What company are you using to do this?
How often do you get yourselves checked up from a cyber security perspective?
Did you know that medical records are the most valuable data you can buy on the dark web? Second to name, address and date of birth. So disclosing your child’s peanut allergy should be followed with an assurance from the school or centre that that information will be as well protected under their care as your child will be.
Schools of Thought
When it comes to schools, they all operate under different motivations. For example, a public primary school answers to a governmental department in how it runs its systems with government auditors keeping them accountable. When you think about it that means the government is really in charge of protecting your personal information. So, you can ask the questions, but fundamentally you’ve got to accept that there are reasonable security measures in place.
Private schools are a more uptight beast because they’ve got more to lose. Their reputation as well as their financial wellbeing would take a hit should the personal data of their students be leaked or stolen.
For the smaller independent schools, however, it would definitely be worth asking the questions. You’re well within your rights to find out what cyber security measures they’re taking; how they are guaranteeing the protection of your and your children’s data; whether they have a policy in place and if they have a company handling that side of their security?
“At the end of the day, you just want to know that they’re thinking about it.”
Computers for Kids
Where parents really need to step in on the subject of cyber security and school is with regards to student use of technology.
Though pen and paper is still a thing (I hope it always will be), the reality is kids are utilising laptops, computers and iPads routinely throughout their academic career. My 3 year old son and his preschool mates watch YouTube videos on the Kindy computer which is also used for uploading regular updates of his day. Meanwhile, my friend’s 12 year old daughter has her own laptop as included in the hefty annual tuition fees, replacing the historic textbook of yonder years.
The good news is that whether a student is working from a computer within the school or bringing in his or her own device, they are accessing a central network. “That Wi-Fi network will have protections in place,” says Tony, “blocking various content at network point.” Meaning the school’s already anticipated the problem and installed the necessary measures to contain it.
As far as the standard webcam, a feature of every laptop, take the common sense approach and advise your child to cover it with a sticker when they’re not using it. “There’s definitely increased awareness around the potential dangers of webcams and hackers,” says Tony, “and in time, computer manufacturers will start reintegrating webcam shutters back into computer screens.”
So when it comes to your children’s education, make sure you school yourself first and lead by example.