Rob Faulkner, Webanywhere's presales manager and e-safety expert recently spoke at EdTech 15. He looked at e-safety within the classroom and ways to be more secure online.

1. eSafety and Security
Rob Faulkner, Presales Manager, Webanywhere Ltd

2. Why is eSafety
important in the classroom?
▪eSafety is using technology in a way which doesn’t harm oneself or others,
particularly when online
▪The internet is a fantastic tool which involves some danger. Just as you don’t
leave young children alone in the park, you don’t leave them alone on the
internet… older children we may let out alone, but only once they know the
rules and know how to look after themselves
eSafety and Security – EdTech ’15 Rob Faulkner,

3. Risks?
There are a huge range of risks to our
students, staff and school when using the
Internet.
Fortunately a wide range of resources are
available to help us understand the risks,
implement policies to mitigate them, and
teach people to make sensible decisions
online
eSafety and Security – EdTech ’15 Rob Faulkner,

4. Learning more
Childnet produce a great range of free
resources to help staff and students
learn more about risks and how to
understand and manage these in school
eSafety and Security – EdTech ’15 Rob Faulkner,

5. Learning more
KidSMART is part of Childnet and
provides lesson plans and classroom
ideas for teaching eSafety as well as
information for parents
eSafety and Security – EdTech ’15 Rob Faulkner,

6. Learning more
SWGFL are a recognised leader in e-safety, not
just in the South West.
Policy templates, checklists and a wide range
of learning resources for both staff and
students are available for free
eSafety and Security – EdTech ’15 Rob Faulkner,

7. Learning more
ICT4Collaboration are a part of the
Yorkshire and Humberside Grid for
Learning and provide local training events
here in Yorkshire as well as useful online
resources
eSafety and Security – EdTech ’15 Rob Faulkner,

8. IWF and CEOP
Everyone who works with children should be aware of IWF and CEOP.
IWF is the Internet Watch Foundation and are the UK Hotline for reporting
criminal content online, including child sexual abuse content and criminally
obscene adult content
If you have content of this nature reported to you it is important that you do
not investigate or try to access it. Just go to the IWF website at www.iwf.org.uk
and report it. The process is anonymous and confidential.
eSafety and Security – EdTech ’15 Rob Faulkner,

9. IWF and CEOP
The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, part of the UK
Government’s National Crime Agency, is an organisation consisting of police
officers who work to prosecute online child sex offenders, including those who
produce, distribute and view online child abuse material.
CEOP operate a similar online reporting tool for incidents such as grooming or
people acting inappropriately towards children online. This can be found at
www.ceop.police.uk
eSafety and Security – EdTech ’15 Rob Faulkner,

10. Why is Security
important in the classroom?
▪Security is the protection of data and systems
▪As educators you have a duty of care to protect your students and their
information, as well as your own and the school’s data – although the threats
may be ICT related, the implications can be very human
eSafety and Security – EdTech ’15 Rob Faulkner,

11. How can we take easy
steps to be more secure?
Security is a massive topic, and everybody has a part to play
The majority of security incidents occur because of three things:
1. Poor password management
2. Vulnerable software
3. Social engineering
eSafety and Security – EdTech ’15 Rob Faulkner,

12. Password Management
We all know that passwords are the key to systems & data
We should all know that weak passwords = weak security:
Bad = Pa55word
Good = nnm2sd!Wm@t$sks
But long and complicated passwords can be difficult to
remember…
eSafety and Security – EdTech ’15 Rob Faulkner,

13. Password Management
Two simple ways to solve this:
1. Use passwords that are strong but still easy to remember:
eSafety and Security – EdTech ’15 Rob Faulkner,

14. eSafety and Security – EdTech ’15 Rob Faulkner,
Credit: https://xkcd.com/936/

15. Password Management
Use password management software, which:
▪Securely stores passwords under a master key
▪Generates new strong passwords
▪Backups your passwords
Two main types – local or cloud… just
make sure you trust the software!
eSafety and Security – EdTech ’15 Rob Faulkner,

16. Password Management
But the biggest problem with passwords is…
Using the same password more than once!
This is where the majority of ‘hacks’ come from
eSafety and Security – EdTech ’15 Rob Faulkner,

17. Password Management
Example:
1. My password that I use for all my sites is ‘candle45stick’
2. I sign up for a new account at ‘superdealsaver.com’ to get voucher codes
using my email address and I set my password to the one I use everywhere
else
3. ‘superdealsaver.com’ now know my email address and password and can
access my email if they wish – or if they are hacked, hackers may find and
use my info…
…what if it was the same as my bank or SIMS password?
eSafety and Security – EdTech ’15 Rob Faulkner,

18. Password Management
If we use unique passwords for each and every site we access, this is not a risk…
But no-one can remember this many passwords, so either:
1. Use a variation of your password, for example my ‘usual’ password is
‘candle45stick’, but for superdealsaver.com I might use ‘candle45stickSDS’ –
this is not ideal, but better than using the same password everywhere
eSafety and Security – EdTech ’15 Rob Faulkner,

19. Password Management
But the best way to deal with it is
Use a password manager and unique passwords for every site!
Just make sure that the password to your password manager is secure, and if you
use a cloud (web-based) password manager, try to use two factor authentication
eSafety and Security – EdTech ’15 Rob Faulkner,

20. Vulnerable Software
Software will always have bugs, and sometimes these are security related
If we are entering passwords, credit card details and other secure or sensitive
information how do we know that the software on our computer isn’t allowing
malicious people to see and capture it?
eSafety and Security – EdTech ’15 Rob Faulkner,

21. Vulnerable Software
To minimise the risk of this we need to:
Always have anti-virus software
and
Always keep our software up-to-date
eSafety and Security – EdTech ’15 Rob Faulkner,

22. Vulnerable Software
Windows XP no longer gets any
updates…
If there are security bugs in
Windows XP no one will fix them
and you will be a target!
eSafety and Security – EdTech ’15 Rob Faulkner,

23. Vulnerable Software
Flash and Java are historically notorious
for security issues.
Although they are better than they
used to be, if you have old versions
then it’s relatively easy for an attacker
to take over your computer
eSafety and Security – EdTech ’15 Rob Faulkner,

24. Vulnerable Software
It may be that you don’t have
control over updating software
on your school computers – so
if it looks like you have out-of-
date software then challenge
your IT team or IT suppliers on
this.
eSafety and Security – EdTech ’15 Rob Faulkner,

25. Social Engineering
The third biggest security threat is social engineering.
This is a complex emerging issue, and there are many different ways in which it
can manifest itself.
Put simply – it’s using non-technical methods to break into systems. These
methods are typically psychological manipulation and use of classic ‘con artist’
tricks.
eSafety and Security – EdTech ’15 Rob Faulkner,

26. Social Engineering
We have all probably heard or
read about attacks where
people attempt to get us to
divulge our bank or credit card
details either over the phone
or online
eSafety and Security – EdTech ’15 Rob Faulkner,

27. Social Engineering
But what about this in the workplace?
You should never give your password to anyone!
Remember – if someone calls you, they need to
prove their identity!
eSafety and Security – EdTech ’15 Rob Faulkner,
Hi this is Joe from the council
help desk – please can you give
me your username and
password so I can investigate
the issue on your computer?

28. Where to get help?
Your local authority have a responsibility to make sure you are secure – with
password management, anti-virus and software updates always seek their advice
to ensure you are following their policies.
This may also extend to in-house or third-party ICT support staff, so always check
with them first.
eSafety and Security – EdTech ’15 Rob Faulkner,

29. In summary
▪Being safe online requires knowledge of the risks
▪We can’t all be experts, but we can share and help our colleagues and students
▪Safety is only as good as its weakest link – so ensure that you have school-wide
policies and opportunities to share/learn
▪Challenge your own staff, your suppliers and your local authority and don’t be
afraid to ask for help and guidance
eSafety and Security – EdTech ’15 Rob Faulkner,