šš”ļø KICKING OFF CYBERSECURITY AWARENESS MONTHā¦ A DAY EARLY!
Cybersecurity Awareness Month at STARBASE Kelly
Yesterday, I spent my lunch break at one of my favorite places ā STARBASE Kelly!
It was the perfect way to kick off Cybersecurity Awareness Month a day early, talking cyber safety with an awesome group of 5th graders from Sun Valley Elementary School.
And let me tell you ā these students were fantastic! They had great questions, great answers, and absolutely no shortage of opinions. š
š® FIRST STOP: THEIR DIGITAL WORLD
I asked how many of them play Roblox.
About 99% of the hands went up.
No surprise there.
What DID surprise some of the adults were what came next. Many of the students said they have multiple accounts ā not only on Roblox, but across other games and online platforms.
Then came the interesting partā¦
Some said their parents don't know about all of them. š³
And just like that, we had our first cybersecurity lesson.
We talked about Internet Stranger Danger and what to do if someone online keeps trying to get them to chat, call, video call, share information, or do something that makes them uncomfortable.
The answer was simple:
Tell a parent or trusted adult.
Don't wait.
Don't try to handle it yourself.
š THEN WE GOOGLEDā¦ ME!
With help from one of the teachers, I challenged the students to use Google and see what they could find about Coach Hall on the Internet. They found an AI-generated article about me, along with plenty of other information about my career, cybersecurity activities, teams, and adventures.
Their reaction was basically:
š² "WAITā¦ ALL OF THAT IS ON THE INTERNET?!"
Yep.
That opened the door to one of the best conversations of the day: your digital footprint.
Several students said they had searched for themselves before. Most of what they found came from things their parents had posted ā accomplishments, family pictures, school activities, and other memories.
So naturally, I had to ask:
"How many of your parents make you hold one of those FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL signs for a picture?"
The room responded with what may have been the largest synchronized 5th-grade eye roll in Texas. šš
Every hand seemed to go up. Several immediately said, "I hope this is the LAST YEAR!"
Sorry, parents. Apparently, the reviews are in. š
But underneath the laughs was an important lesson: once something is posted online, other people may be able to find it. Families should think about what they share, who can see it, and whether that information really needs to be public.
šµļø "WHY WOULD A HACKER WANT MY INFORMATION?"
That was one of the best questions I received.
We talked about how criminals can use pieces of personal information to impersonate people, take over accounts, trick others, or gain access to computers, tablets, phones, and online services.
You don't have to be famous, rich, or an adult for your information to have value.
So, we came back to some basic rules:
Don't click strange links.
Don't accept friend or chat requests just because someone seems friendly. Don't respond to suspicious texts or messages.
Don't share personal information with people you don't know.
And when something doesn't feel right?
Tell a parent, teacher, or another trusted adult.
š THEN COACH HALL WENT FULL 1980sā¦
Of course, we had to have some fun.
I used the mighty power of Google to show them some of the mainframe computers and equipment I learned on when I began my journey in IT.
The reactions were priceless.
Then I showed them two mysterious ancient artifacts from the 1980s:
āļø A cordless telephoneš» A stereo tuner Judging by their faces, I may as well have shown them technology recovered from an archaeological dig. š
That led us into a discussion about wireless signals ā and the story of how a much younger Coach Hall discovered that his stereo could pick up a cordless telephone conversation.
Which is also how I accidentally discovered what I was getting for Christmas. šš
Apparently, a young Coach Hall was conducting wireless reconnaissance before he even knew what wireless reconnaissance was.
Sorry, Mom.
And THAT became another lesson: wireless technology has changed tremendously but understanding how information travels ā and who might be able to receive it ā has always mattered.
š WHAT A GREAT WAY TO SPEND A LUNCH BREAK!
Cybersecurity Awareness Month isn't only about firewalls, malware, passwords, and hackers.
It's about people. It's about helping our kids understand the digital world they're growing up in and teaching them that being connected to everything also means learning how to protect themselves.
A huge THANK YOU to the teachers and staff at STARBASE Kelly for inviting the Cyber Viking back aboard and to the awesome 5th graders from Sun Valley Elementary for the questions, laughs, eye rolls, and great conversations.
Keep asking questions. Keep learning. And most importantlyā¦
š”ļø Stay curious. Stay cyber smart. Stay safe on the digital seas.
āļø Cyber Like A Viking! āļø
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