Fasten the ‘seat belt’ for kids surfing the internet

  In the novel “The Three-Body Problem” by Liu Cixin, a well-known science fiction writer, a “chaotic era” is described: everyone can be “dehydrated”, like a deflated ball, turning into a soft skin; Soak the skin in water for a while, and people will return to their original shape and come back to life. In “Chaotic Era”, everyone needs to have this ability, otherwise they will not be able to survive. This is a rather interesting sci-fi storyline, which vividly and profoundly tells people a truth: how important it is to have basic abilities in order to survive in a certain environment.
  Although we don’t need to face “chaotic era” now, who can guarantee that we will not face a future beyond imagination than science fiction stories? If we can not “dehydrate”, what skills must we master to face the future?
  To some extent, this is actually a must-answer question. The answerer is everyone, and the answer time is now. After all, the world is changing so fast, even faster than the speed of aging and growing up, even much faster.
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  A few years ago, the Global Agenda Council of the World Economic Forum released a report called “Future Software and Society”, listing the timetable for “black technology” to enter mainstream society: by 2022, 10% of the world’s population of clothing will be connected to the Internet; by 2023, about 10% of reading glasses will be connected to the Internet; by 2024, access to the Internet will become a basic right; by 2030, about 80% of the world The population will have a digital presence online…
  More than 800 interviewed executives and experts from the technology industry believe that before 2030, these “black technologies” will inevitably happen, and no one can stay out of it. When we look back at the past based on the present, we will find that the previous predictions are rapidly becoming reality or close to reality. This means that by 2030, our lives are likely to be as cool as science fiction. So, what will life be like in 2040, 2050, and beyond? No one can tell. However, one thing is indisputable: the future will be a hyper-connected world. At that time, the Internet exists as the air between all things. In other words, the Internet will constitute a basic living environment.
  In such an environment, what people need most is survival and safety. Without security, everything can crumble and disappear at any moment, especially in the online world. For example, all the files in the computer suddenly become garbled, the bank password and identity information in the database are leaked and even illegally traded, encounter “phishing” in the game group, and are defrauded of large amounts of property… The online world is not a pure land, Lack of network security awareness and the ability to fight against network security risks is tantamount to running naked in the risk. How can we live and develop safely and securely?
  In fact, the above concerns are not alarmist. According to the survey, one-third of teenagers in our country have encountered sexual harassment on the Internet; 36% have encountered fraudulent information on the Internet; the proportion of violent insults has reached 71%. For this generation of children who grew up on the Internet, although many of them are proficient in electronic devices, at the age of 2, they use mobile phones, at the age of 3, they play with tablets, and at the age of 6, they learn programming…the time spent on the Internet may even exceed that of adults. , but they know little about the risks that exist online. Children may not know that it is not allowed to publish information at will on the Internet, and a careless disclosure of privacy may be used by bad people; children may not know that there are many bad people in the online world just like the real world. Children do not yet have enough self-control. Facing the tempting online world, they need the supervision and help of adults.
  All of these mean that from now on, no matter you are an adult or a child, you must strive to make yourself aware of network security, and be able to carry out self-protection and crisis management when necessary. Only in this way can the safety of people, life and property be protected. As a result, the iteratively updated life compulsory curriculum needs to add the lesson of “cyber security survival”.
  So, what do you need to learn about network security survival? How to learn? The book “Network Survival Lessons for Children” answers these questions.
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  At present, network security has become a professional course, and “cyberspace security” has been added as a first-level subject in my country, alongside mathematics, physics, computer science and technology. However, for many non-professionals, especially those parents and children who are new to this field, this topic is obviously beyond the outline. As a zero-based network security “novice”, how can I learn more and use it in the study of network security?

  Cybersecurity stories are probably a good place to start. Although only 50 years have passed since Arpanet, the predecessor of the Internet, was born in 1969, the network security stories in it can be called the number of sands in the Ganges River: Where did the first network virus come from? Who is the number one hacker in the world? What is the “gate” leading to the “prism door”? What happened to “stealing the library”? How to use passwords in daily life to complete the conversion of ciphertext and plaintext to protect privacy? How to get out of cyber fraud… Those stories that happened in real life make the history of cyber security development and cyber security crisis as vivid as a movie, and the profound and unfamiliar terms and concepts become easier to understand, to be felt. Each of the stories also makes people realize that the network security crisis is hidden around us, we must not know it, we must prevent it; more importantly, we must learn how to prevent the above-mentioned crisis. Such knowledge can be learned in “Network Survival Lessons for Children”. As an introductory Internet science book written for children, this book starts with network security-related incidents, puts forward the knowledge points of network security science, deepens it from a theoretical perspective, and supplements it with practical exercises from a practical perspective. The learning path of “knowledge to meeting” is concise, direct, yet interesting and enlightening to think about.
  In order to make it easier for young readers to understand advanced knowledge, the book adopts the narrative method of asking questions. A large number of stories start from questions or are interspersed with questions. A thoughtful read. The table of contents of this book is actually a “question bank”, which can not only attract children as a point of interest, but also serve as a skipping index. Thinking reading is the beginning of in-depth reading: looking at and thinking about problems from multiple angles will make the reading process subtly turn into a process of inquiry. For example, the question “Do you know why hackers are divided into ‘black hats’ and ‘white hats'” may attract people to open the title page and find the answer.
  However, the above is not the whole point that this book wants to convey. Because even with professional knowledge and practical ability, it is not enough to cope with the complex and ever-changing Internet living environment. It is also necessary to change the original “way of thinking”, that is, to learn to understand the essence of things, so as to solve a series of problems. For this reason, “Network Survival Lessons for Children” connects Metcalfe’s Law – the Internet is so precious, the principle of wooden barrels – please make up for the shortcomings of security, Murphy’s Law – there are “black swans” in the online world, etc. big thinking. The book also sets up an “exploration and discovery” unit, which includes “network security thinking”, “network security laboratory”, “Internet survival rules”, “Internet interesting people and interesting stories”, etc., to help young readers complete from paper reading to life reality and practical experience. Links to experiences.
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  The nature of the cybersecurity crisis can also be understood from a perspective beyond technology. In a future where technology is infinitely powerful and human capabilities continue to be strengthened, the cybersecurity crisis may exist precisely in the conflict between wisdom and morality. Therefore, this book silently emphasizes one thing not only on the title page but also between the lines on each page: no matter in the real world or the online world, the only thing that can light up the future is the combination of wisdom and morality. The greater the ability, the more we need to stick to morality; the more borderless technology is, the more morality is the bottom line.
  Today, the Internet has become an important channel for people to obtain knowledge and information. In the future world, everyone’s life will be increasingly established in the metaverse based on information technology and the Internet. How to popularize network security thinking and ability, so that children have more ability to survive and develop in the Internet age, is an inevitable challenge for families, schools, and society.
  It should be emphasized that the book “Network Survival Lessons for Children” is not only written for children, but also for parents and educators. This is because, no matter from the perspective of the development of people and education, or from the perspective of network security and the construction of the living environment, they are not only mutually independent individuals, but also an indispensable combination. Whether it’s “small hands holding big hands” or “big hands holding small hands”, the book “Network Survival Lessons for Children” is a good choice for safe and secure journey to the future world of Internet of Everything.