THE pandemic increased cyberthreats in both the home workplace and the home classroom. Children became increasingly vulnerable due to various social engineering and other cyber threats.
Instead of responding with digital ammunition, cybersecurity expert Fortinet and education platform Edukasyon.ph collaborated with the Department of education to give away complimentary copies of Fortinet’s “Cyber Safe” book to parents, educators and students.
“Amid the pandemic, internet usage greatly increased among the youths due to online and remote education as the new norm. This develops new threats that affect the children’s privacy, safety, and security. For that reason, parents’ and educators’ protective boundaries apply not only physically but also digitally,” Louie Castañeda, country manager of Fortinet Philippines said in an online conference.
Fortinet, though a global leader in broad, integrated, and automated cybersecurity solutions, chose to distribute the book “Cyber Safe: A Dog’s Guide to Internet Security,” to those who registered for the livestream event “Asking for a Friend: How Can Kids Stay Safe from Digital Threats,” it conducted with Edukasyon.ph.
“At Fortinet, we have been committed to educating, and empowering communities through knowledge and necessary skills to deal with cyber threats, especially educating youth on good cybersecurity hygiene. Fortinet has pledged to train 1 million people to help close the cybersecurity skills gap globally across the next 5 years through Fortinet’s Training Advancement Agenda (TAA),” Castañeda said.
Co-authored by Renee Tarun, Fortinet’s Deputy CISO and Vice President of Information Security, the book provides an easy-to-understand introduction to possible dangers for children connecting online for school, video games, and streaming videos shows, and more.
In addition, copies of the children’s book, Through this collaboration, Fortinet aims to raise the youth’s cybersecurity awareness by informing parents and educators about cybersecurity and encouraging them to be involved in cyber safety to protect children in the digital world.
“As we, at Edukasyon.ph, continue to empower students, enabling them to pursue their chosen career and life through our platform. We also want to protect them from the growing threats online that could disrupt their lives and learning. Through this virtual event, Edukasyon.ph and Fortinet will train parents and educators on how to recognize cyber threats, what action they can take if it arises, and how they can keep the children safe from existing and emerging digital threats,” Grace David, CEO of Edukasyon.ph expressed.
This youth outreach with Edukasyon.ph and DepEd is part of Fortinet’s global CSR commitment to creating awareness among children. It also reinforces Fortinet’s skills gap initiative to build cybersecurity awareness at a young age, helping to create a safe online environment for everyone.
