During information security awareness camps, students across the nation will learn about cyber security and the risks of improper use of the internet.

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) and the International Council of E-Commerce Consultants (EC-Council) launched the specifically designed nationwide programme with the aim of educating students on the optimal use of the social networking sites and how to avoid suspicious websites.

Teachers from respective schools will be trained and provided with learning materials on online security and how to apply the teachings to their classrooms.

Upon completion of the course, students will obtain a globally recognised information security certificate by the EC-Council.

TRA Director General, Mohamed Nasser Al Ghanim said: “The importance of the internet for the younger generation is increasing; (hence) it has become a vital part of the educational process.”

Jay Bavisi, President of EC-Council added: “Information security encompasses more than just protecting sovereign IT systems of governments and organisations.

“Advances in instant communication medium including the likes of Twitter, Facebook, and other instant messaging services drive the very fabric of our modern society.

“Parents, siblings, teachers and children alike will need to understand the dangers the connected world presents while leveraging the internet for education, life and work.”

Raymond Choo, Senior Research Analyst at the Australian Institute of Criminology said that developments in ICT had created an “ideal criminogenic environment”.

“There are abundant opportunities, highly motivated offenders, and not a great deal of coordinated and effective regulation,” Choo says.

Sangeet Bhullar, Executive Director of WISE KIDS, a UK not for profit organisation providing training programmes and consultancy to promote digital literacy, said that schools were just one stakeholder out of the many needed to enhance awareness.

“We have to involve all the stakeholders—police, educators, government, child services et cetera—in thinking about how we embed digital literacy in all the structures.

“Everyone has to come together to look at the system and decide on what we need and what we don’t have so that we can work together to educate children and youth effectively.”