Cybersecurity Early Education: A Review of Current Cybersecurity Education for Young Children

Elham Ebrahimi, Marjorie Pare, Geoff Stoker, Shauna White

2025

Abstract

Cybersecurity education is critical for children growing up in a digital world where learning to navigate the internet safely is as important as learning to safely cross a busy street. Interacting with engaging games is an excellent way for children to learn complex cybersecurity concepts. Students are increasingly engaged in online activities at school, via social media, and on gaming platforms. Cybersecurity education helps them recognize and avoid potential threats, like phishing scams, online predators, and privacy breaches. Teaching children to protect their personal information (like names, addresses, and locations) can help prevent identity theft and reduce the risks of cyberbullying. Furthermore, cybersecurity education fosters digital literacy, enabling children to understand the broader digital environment, including the ethical use of technology and the consequences of their online actions. Early exposure to cybersecurity concepts also cultivates interest in STEM, which opens doors to future technical careers and builds valuable problem-solving and analytical skills. This article aims to provide an overview of available games on cybersecurity topics for primary and secondary school students and to describe the implementation of a browser-based game platform for primary school students.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Ebrahimi E., Pare M., Stoker G. and White S. (2025). Cybersecurity Early Education: A Review of Current Cybersecurity Education for Young Children. In Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Computer Supported Education - Volume 1: ERSeGEL; ISBN 978-989-758-746-7, SciTePress, pages 822-833. DOI: 10.5220/0013501000003932

in Bibtex Style

@conference{ersegel25,
author={Elham Ebrahimi and Marjorie Pare and Geoff Stoker and Shauna White},
title={Cybersecurity Early Education: A Review of Current Cybersecurity Education for Young Children},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Computer Supported Education - Volume 1: ERSeGEL},
year={2025},
pages={822-833},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0013501000003932},
isbn={978-989-758-746-7},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Computer Supported Education - Volume 1: ERSeGEL
TI - Cybersecurity Early Education: A Review of Current Cybersecurity Education for Young Children
SN - 978-989-758-746-7
AU - Ebrahimi E.
AU - Pare M.
AU - Stoker G.
AU - White S.
PY - 2025
SP - 822
EP - 833
DO - 10.5220/0013501000003932
PB - SciTePress