KUALA LUMPUR: Internet policeman Cybersecurity Malaysia has started a volunteer programme that is aimed at educating youths on how to stay safe in cyberspace.
The programme called CyberSAFE Ambassadors will recruit mostly students and youths to champion its agenda. It is non-technical and targeted at the general public, particularly young people.
According to Cybersecurity Malaysia chief executive officer Husin Jazri the programme will also encourage more Malaysians to be caring digital citizens.
“Some of us have been victims of cybercrimes at one time or other so we can pass on these lessons and share our experiences to prevent others from becoming victims too,” he said in an interview with In.Tech on the sidelines of the CyberSAFE Dialogue Forum here recently.
Husin said that with children’s growing familiarisation of information technology and the Internet, cybersecurity has evolved from being a technical issue to a public one.
Based on statistics from the Norton Online Living Report 2009, young Malaysians spend 64 hours a month online compared to the adults who only spend 48 hours a month.
The study also shows that 60% of our youth chat with strangers online and that many parents are mostly unaware of their children’s activities on the Web.
“There’s no more suitable time than now to start a programme like CyberSAFE Ambassadors,” Husin said.
These ambassadors, he explained, will go through a three-day course that will expose them to the social and technological issues related to safety on the Internet, and they will be provided with the resources to promote safe-surfing habits among their peers.
“This way, our youth and teens will have someone close to their own age to come to for advice on Internet safety if they do not feel comfortable discussing their online activities with adults,” he said.
Teachers, too
Cybersecurity Malaysia is also working on a similar programme that will be solely for teachers. “We want to get as many people involved as possible,” Husin said.
He said Cybersecurity Malaysia has carried out pilot projects of this programme in more than 150 schools nationwide and has received positive responses.
“Many students and teachers welcomed the pilot projects because they realised that although they may be technology savvy, they are not necessarily cybersecurity savvy,” said Husin.
Several students and teachers attending the conference lauded the Cybersecurity Malaysia programmes.
Aliza Harun Rasheed, a teacher and a mother of six, said the ambassador programme will attain its intended goal if everyone chips in.
“Teenagers would rather listen to their peers on issues like that, but I think teachers also need to get involved to both learn and help make sure that the children get the right information,” she told In.Tech.
Afiq Hafeezi Zahari, 11, believes the programme is a good idea because it reveals both the good and bad aspects of the Internet. “A lot of my friends think that the Internet is simple and harmless but I know there’s more to it than that,” he said.
Cybersecurity Malaysia will start recruiting its ambassadors soon and will officially launch the programme early next year in conjunction with the graduation of its pioneer batch.
It is spreading the word on its CyberSAFE Ambassadors programme by mouth and via a website. To learn more about the programme, go to www.cybersafe.my.
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