This morning 40 students from three classes of the scientific and classical studies at the ‘Visconti’ School in Rome attended the first lesson of the pilot project for the promotion of cyber security culture in schools, promoted by the Cyber Security Italy Foundation, the first non-profit foundation in Italy on the cyber world, chaired by Marco Gabriele Proietti.

Speakers at the meeting included Monica Scannapieco, Head of the Research and Awareness Programmes Division of the National Cybersecurity Agency (ACN), Barbara Strappato, Deputy Director of the Postal Police, Alessio Agnello, Technical Director Trend Micro Italia, and Matteo Macina, Deputy Director of the Cyber Security Italy Foundation.

As students return to the classroom for the new school year, in a school that is increasingly innovative and digitised in its teaching, there is a strong need to equip primary and secondary education institutions with tools for solid cyber security training involving students and teachers.

“Talking about cybersecurity in educational institutions means looking to the future and acting on the present,” explains President Proietti. “In an increasingly connected world, cyber security education emerges as a top priority. Our initiatives were therefore created to raise awareness of the urgency of teaching these skills as early as compulsory schooling. We are not dealing with a niche subject or one intended only for IT experts, but we believe it is a fundamental skill for all citizens. Students must be prepared to face the challenges and threats arising from the use of digital devices, social networks and Internet access. The ultimate goal to strive for is to include cyber security in the curriculum. The digital world, which is increasingly pervasive in our daily lives, makes it essential for young people to acquire knowledge and skills that can protect them in an ever-changing online environment”.

The next project meetings will involve two more schools in the capital: the Istituto Istruzione Superiore ‘Giorgi – Woolf’ (13 November) and the ITIS ‘G. Armellini’ (4 December). The courses will take place over the course of a year and will aim to raise students’ awareness of the importance of cyber security and provide basic knowledge and practical skills in the field. All the lessons, which will be held by the Foundation’s experts, will also include meetings with operators from the National Cybersecurity Agency and the Postal Police, who will have the opportunity to illustrate their work, also by sharing operational experiences in the field.

“A decisive and fundamental presence,” says Proietti, “that will allow us to provide students and teachers with integrated, comprehensive and all-round training, with a strongly practical approach, and that certifies the validity of our initiatives. A project in step with the times. A lawful and healthy use of information technology taught starting from the school benches means developing skills and awareness to become critical consumers, conscious users and responsible and prepared digital users”.