Summer Hack 2018: Cyber Security Challenge

Imagine someone who never really thinks about cyber security and isn’t aware of any threat on line. How could you engage them? What would be the most fun, provocative or interesting way to do either of the following?

  1. tell someone something about how to stay safe on line or
  2. encourage them to find out for themselves?

Your challenge is to create a game or an app to help someone who doesn’t know or think about cyber security.

What is cyber security?

So what is cyber security? Is it about knowing what information about you is online and who can see it? Is it about how to create strong passwords and keep them safe? Is it about what you chose to share? Or is it about what you have to share in order to use apps? How many people know that companies who give you apps for free sell your data on to 3rd parties? (According to Whose Data Is It Anyway?, only 8% of consumers understood how organisations use their personal data in 2016.

How much choice do you have about using Snapchat for example, if everyone in your class/school is using it? Is cyber security for you about being safe not just in terms of your personal information, but also in terms of your happiness, mental health and general well being? Could you create a game or an app that helps people think about the emotional pressure of social media and living in a digital world?

How to do it

We’re looking for the most fun and engaging games or apps that can help people who have never really thought about cyber security before. But you can interpret what cyber security is in any way you want. We’d love it if you can come up with an aspect of cyber security we haven’t thought about.

You might want to think about using a story or a character to make your game or app engaging. You might create an original story or use a story from the real world.

You might want to do some research into stories and characters in the news today, such as the use of social media or hacking to affect elections or you might want to find a story from the history of hacking. Does anyone know how the first laws against computer misuse and cyber security came into being?