đŸ§© It’s Not Just About Hackers

We often think of cybersecurity as this big, invisible war between hackers and firewalls. But what we explored this week—especially through the student-led session and the article â€œWhy Cybersecurity Is Everyone’s Responsibility” by Cisco—showed that cybersecurity is a human issue, not just a technical one.

The presenters really emphasized how social engineering (like phishing and impersonation) exploits trust more than tech. And it’s true—if you can make someone feel safe, they’ll hand over their information willingly. It’s not about brute force. It’s about human psychology.

🎒 What This Means for Educators

In schools, students are always online—submitting assignments, accessing course portals, chatting on group projects. But how often do we teach them to pause and ask:

“Does this link look suspicious?”
“Should I be sharing this file with a stranger?”

The Common Sense Digital Citizenship Curriculum does a fantastic job building these habits. It’s not just “don’t share your password.” It’s why you don’t—and how digital choices reflect your values. Teaching this early could shift the whole narrative from punishment (“You broke the rules”) to empowerment (“You protected your space”).

🌐 Power, Privacy, and Cultural Perspectives

A powerful point raised during discussion was how cybersecurity looks different depending on context. In some communities, especially those with histories of colonial surveillance, privacy is political.

Take Indigenous data sovereignty, for example. It’s not just about protecting individual privacy, but collective knowledge and cultural stories. Cybersecurity here isn’t optional—it’s about self-determination. As this First Nations Information Governance Centre report outlines, principles like OCAPÂź (Ownership, Control, Access, and Possession) must guide how data is collected, used, and protected.

That made me rethink how we use educational platforms. Whose data are we collecting? Who has access to it? And what assumptions are baked into the software we choose?

🔐 Practicing What I Preach

  • Switched to a password manager (Bitwarden for the win đŸ’Ș)
  • Set up 2FA on every account I could remember
  • Talked to my group chat about phishing (surprisingly, most had been targeted too)
  • Read the EFF’s Surveillance Self-Defense Guide and bookmarked it

These aren’t huge changes. But they’re shifts in awareness. And that’s where it all starts.

💬 Let’s Talk About It

What about you? Have you ever been tricked by a fake email or shady app? Do you think schools should teach cybersecurity more explicitly—or integrate it into other courses?

Leave a comment, tag me in your post, or share your favorite tools and tips for staying safe online.

Let’s keep each other informed—and protected.