When I was a child, there was no need for cybersecurity because it was the early 1980s and there was no such thing as the Internet as we know it today. In the last twenty years the situation has turned around completely around — it is oftentimes difficult to determine who or what is real online and every day people come up with new scams to try to rip off people and steal everything from their identity to the contents of their bank accounts.

Many of the problems lay with many people who were of a certain age range when the Internet began becoming more and more popular. I was in my synagogue early the other day and someone, probably in his late seventies, asked someone else how exactly it was that Amazon worked and was it any good? After he said this I realized that I have been a customer of Amazon for seventeen years! People like this are extremely vulnerable to cyber scams and generally getting ripped off online.

In what seems to be an extremely clever offering from the Department of Homeland Security (They who have brought us shoe removal and long security lines at the airport is suggesting that students in the United States should receive formal education in Cybersecurity beginning from kindergarten and going all the way through graduation.

Now let us think about how this could possibly go wrong. Since it is the Department of Homeland Security that is making this suggestion, I can’t help but think that there may be more to this than just educating children on the importance of Cybersecurity and to prepare them for possibly working in that field.

What else could be taught in these classes? As it is, the Department of Homeland Security has plenty of people believing that by having liquids under three ounces in our bags is somehow protecting us from a terrorist attacks, ensuring that we cannot bring a good amount of quality shampoo, conditioner, or toothpaste. I am concerned that these classes might be conduits for more misinformation.

I suppose having a bit more education for our children about the importance of cybersecurity won’t be a bad thing in the long run — as long as it doesn’t have too much paranoid ranting with the good education.

2 Comments

  1. David Boles – New York City – David Boles was born in Nebraska and holds an MFA from the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York. He is an author, dramatist, editor, publisher, and teacher who writes across the live stage, print, radio, television, film, and the web. With more than 50 books in print, David continues to write 2MM words a year and has authored over 25K articles. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Authors Guild, and PEN America, and founded The United Stage advocacy platform on the principle that playwrights have a duty to direct their own work. Read the Prairie Voice Archive at Boles.com | Buy his books at David Boles Books Writing & Publishing at BolesBooks.com | Study with Script Professor at ScriptProfessor.com | Touch American Sign Language mastery at Hardcore ASL at HardcoreASL.com | Explore the Human Meme podcast at HumanMeme.com | Train with Boles Bells at BolesBells.com.
    David W. Boles says:

    Well, I suppose one can never be too young to start defending the Homeland: “Off With Your Shoes!”

    1. Gordon Davidescu – Born in Perth Amboy, Gordon Davidescu lives in Queens with his wife, children, cat, and plush bears. He loves reading a good book whether it is cloth and paper or digitally.
      Gordon Davidescu says:

      Do you think that the program will be like a sort of propaganda for the Good of the Homeland Security Department?

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