Advanced Cybersecurity Training for Teachers (ACTT4) - June 24, 2024

Recent technological advances in teaching and learning provide dynamic tools required to meet the educational needs of the digital era. However, teachers and other educators are increasingly experiencing cyber threats while teaching online, thereby affecting the quality of teaching as well as learning outcomes. Teacher Ayanna, a secondary school teacher from Trinidad and Tobago, decided to use Zoom sessions to deliver her lessons soon after the school closures in her country. During a class with her form 3 students, she experienced a disturbing Zoombombing attack within the first five minutes of the lesson. She reported the matter to the Cyber Crime Unit and Children’s Authority for advice. Coincidentally, similar incidents had occurred on the same day at other schools. The authorities were able to investigate and apprehend the perpetrator. Since then, she has implemented safety measures on the learning platforms to protect her students from such attacks. 

Like Teacher Ayanna, many educators have been increasingly exposed to cybercrimes in recent times. Responding to a poll in a recent cybersecurity training course for teachers, 30% indicated that they had experienced various attacks including ransomware, Zoombombing, phishing, account hijacking, malvertising, email account takeover, and credit card fraud, among others. It is, therefore, important for educators to be equipped with the skills to mitigate these attacks for a safer and more effective learning environment. 

The Advanced Cybersecurity Training for Teachers (ACTT) course is designed to delve deeper into cybersecurity concepts, and their application in a teaching – learning environment. The course will run over four weeks, and it will require between 4-6 hours of time each week. Participants will learn from video lectures, articles, case studies, webinars as well as discussions with fellow learners and mentors.

Week 1:  Advanced Cyber Attacks

During the first week, participants will explore:

1. Attack vectors 
2. Attacks targeting websites, mobile devices and commonly used computer applications
3. Internal threats to learning institutions

Week 2: Data Security

During the second week, participants will learn:

1. Access controls to protect files on devices and in the cloud
2. Techniques to prevent loss of critical data
3. Data recovery tools and techniques

Week 3: Advanced Personal/Host Security

In the third week, participants will explore:

1. Online anonymity and privacy 
2. Secure communication channels to use when engaging with peers and students remotely
3. Ways of protecting devices from malware and unauthorised access

Week 4: Cybersecurity Concerns in Emerging Technologies

In the final week, participants will:

1. Learn emerging technologies and their benefits in digital learning
2. Learn the cyber risks posed by the technologies
3. Develop a cybersecurity preparedness plan for the technologies

Primary and secondary school teachers

Teacher educators

Other education practitioners

After completion of this course, the participant should be able to:

• Outline the advanced cyber-attacks that may be encountered while teaching online and apply the appropriate mitigations.
• Employ various techniques to protect data created and processed by learning institutions from alteration, loss, and unauthorised access. 
• Apply advanced techniques in online communication, personal security, and device security. 
• Appraise the benefits of emerging technologies in digital learning and how to use them securely.

A Certificate of Completion or a Certificate of Participation will be awarded upon completion of tasks in the course.