Sensitize children and young people to IT security

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Today’s young people grow up with smartphones, the internet and social media as a matter of course. At the same time, the rapid dissemination of information brings the world closer together and overshadows traditional forms of opinion-forming. In addition, critical infrastructures are increasingly becoming targets of cyber attacks as a result of digitization.

In this increasingly networked world, security and privacy in the digital space are essential for society and each individual. In order to make this clear, the BMBF started the communication initiative “Secure the digital future!” today. Above all, it should enable young people to better understand the tasks and topics of IT security research.

At the heart of the initiative is the online game “Tonis Escape – on the trail of the hacker”. The game can be played alone or in a group, at home or in class. The content addresses IT security research and takes place in the everyday life of children and young people. To integrate the topic into school lessons, teachers have access to an accompanying handout and the contents of the website.

The game uses an escape room approach and takes players through three consecutive themed worlds that create a linear story. The first theme world is about supporting the protagonist of the game, Toni Webber, in overcoming a cyber attack on her smart home. The focus here is on digital networking, secure passwords and artificial intelligence (AI).

In the second theme world, which will be playable from May, the players are on the road in an autonomously driving car and have to free Toni’s parents. This is about intelligent mobility and digital payment systems. In the third theme world, which will be available from June, the players hunt the hacker. In order to confront him, they have to evaluate information and deal with disinformation and encryption techniques.

The communication initiative is a measure of the federal government’s research framework program for IT security “Digital. For sure. Sovereign.” The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is funding research in the field of “networking and security of digital systems”. The communication initiative “Secure the digital future!” is part of a package of measures that was put together as part of the research framework program. It presents research in the field of IT security and privacy in formats tailored to the target group and shows how important this research is for a secure digital future.