Pauline Criste

Informative Game on Cyber Awareness for the Children

Business Proposal

INTRODUCTION

Technology has become an integral part of society’s daily life. Humans have become
highly reliant on technology and it has impacted various aspects in the world such as education,
health care, communication, entertainment, work, transportation, and more. Children today have
started using technology at an early age and it is important that they are supervised when using
computer systems such as smartphones, laptops, smart televisions, and tablets because they can
be more vulnerable to cyber attacks. Children are still developing their cognitive skills and are
still understanding the world that they live in. They are one of the most vulnerable groups in our
society due to the lack of experience they have in life. They do not have the sufficient skills and
knowledge about the dangers of technology and they can be unaware about their online safety.
They are at constant risk of cyber crimes such as cyberbullying, phishing, social engineering,
password attacks, and data breaches. Children can be easily influenced especially during their
age of development, which brings the opportunity to give importance in educating them ahead of
time and enhancing their knowledge on responsible use of technology.

CONTEXT

Children are the easiest target for cyber attackers. The lack of awareness that these
children have about the risks that they can encounter online is one reason that they become
vulnerable to cyber attacks. They can be easily influenced by what they observe which makes
them more susceptible to manipulation and deception by bad actors online and in the real world.
Manipulative individuals act as a friend, an authority figure, celebrity, or an influencer on their
online persona and use this profile to take advantage of children by persuading them to trust
them. This trust is then used to manipulate the children in engaging with risky online behaviors.
Children have a limited judgment and impulse control which results in bad decision making and
lack of consideration to the consequences of their actions especially online. Children are exposed
to the cyber world by connecting through social media platforms, gaming world, and other online
services. They may be unaware of the proper use of their privacy settings online which leaves
them unprotected. Personal information may be shared through their online peers such as their
address, their parents credit card information, and their school information. These cases can
happen when there is lack of supervision to their internet use. Due to children being naturally
curious, they have the desire to explore and discover new experiences around them. It is
important for parents, guardians, and educators to support their children in educating them about
online safety and set clear boundaries of their internet usage.
 Pauline Criste

SOLUTION

In order to tackle this problem, my team and I came up with a plan on developing an
informative game that educates children about cyber awareness. Human error is a significant
vulnerability to cybersecurity and what better way to minimize this error is to educate the future
of society, which are the children. People must take importance in investing in the development
and education of children because they represent the next generation of leaders, innovators,
educators, and other professionals. An informative game is beneficial for children because it is
engaging and interactive. It makes learning fun and exciting for children which encourages them
to continue learning.
The game that we will develop will teach various age ranges starting from five years old
and up. The age range starts with the age of five because around this time, children will begin
their education in kindergarten. The level of difficulty and understanding will be based on the
age group that the gamer will select. The youngest group will be given advice such as not
trusting anyone online, to inform their guardians on websites they want to go on, and provide
questions with “yes” or “no” answers. As the age group gets higher, the topics on the game will
give more information on other online activities such as online games. Youtube, and social media
platforms. The game will explore the children’s critical thinking by presenting scenarios in the
game where they have to make decisions in their online activity. An example of this is being
aware of malicious websites. The decision that they have to make is if they are going to click the
link of the malicious website or will they avoid it? Another scenario is through online services
that a certain age group of children use such as online gaming. The scenario is that someone is
asking for personal information about them, what will they do? Will they give it away or will
they stop their interaction with this suspicious person? In each option that they choose, it will
result in either a good or bad scenario. However, they are given the chance to choose the correct
action so they can keep practicing making good decisions. The game will also educate children
on online safety by teaching them digital literacy, types of cyber threats, and the preventative
measures. The game can also teach the importance of reporting suspicious online activity to an
adult and it will provide resources on where to find support when they feel unsafe online.

BARRIERS

The barrier that we expect from developing this informative game is that it provides
general information for a broad range of audience and may not be personalized for a student’s
specific educational needs. Some children may have different learning styles and may take on a
different route on learning about cybersecurity. Another barrier is that since it is an informative
game, children may be uninterested in playing it and prefer to play in a fun game such as fortnite,
roblox, or other competitors that are already known in the industry. We have to find investors
that are willing to help fund the creation of the game due to its primary focus on educating
 Pauline Criste

children rather than making a profit. Our product’s purpose is to educate the children and help
them practice real-world applications in order for them to be protected by cyber threats.

ASSESSMENT

The measurement of success for this informative game is educational departments

purchasing our product to educate their students. Keeping track of parents buying it
independently for their children to play at home will also be a good measure of the sale of our
product. We can offer a demo version of our game, seek feedback and reviews at the end of the
demo. User feedback will help us track how effective the game is to the user and a purchase
after the demo will determine that they are interested in the game. After the game release, there
will be updates on the game based on the reviews from the users.
A long term way to measure the success of this product is collecting data on cyber
incidents that include children in it. We will collect data before releasing the game and collect
data after the game is released to compare if the cyber incidents decreased over time, stayed the
same, or increased.