Study: Few teachers, schools educate students on cybersecurity

Among the poll’s findings:

– About 27 percent of teachers taught students “safe use of social networks,” such as Facebook and Twitter;

– Only 18 percent explained to students the risks of Web fraud, and about 19 percent taught students how to create safe passwords;

– Meanwhile, 44 percent of teachers said they had never broached the topic of cybersecurity in their classrooms.

“The study illuminates that there is no cohesive effort to provide young people the education they need to safely and securely navigate the digital age and prepare them as digital citizens and employees,” said Michael Kaiser, the executive director of the NCSA.

“President Obama in his Cyberspace Policy Review released last year specifically calls for a ‘K-12 cybersecurity education program for digital safety, ethics and security,’” he continued. “Now is the time for a national consensus to move forward to achieve that goal.”