For the third year running, KPMG International held its annual Global Cyber Day across 51 countries around the world. KPMG in India held the cyber literacy training for 77,569 students in 178 schools. This community initiative, led by KPMG cyber security professionals, is aimed at educating young people about the importance of cyber security and internet risk, as part of the firm’s commitment to supporting the communities in which it operates.

The classroom sessions ran throughout October as part of the globally-recognised International Cyber Security Awareness Month and included guidance on safe use of personal data, social media, cyber bullying, online gaming and smartphones.

“Cyber security may not be child’s play, but participants in our Global Cyber Day program had the chance to play and learn how to stay safe online,” said Akhilesh Tuteja, who co-leads KPMG’s Global Cyber Security practice, along with Tony Buffomante. “We know from our recent CEO Outlook study that cyber security has been a business-critical issue for clients for the past few years. It’s also a more pressing and high-profile societal concern than it ever has been before, particularly for young people who are often the most vulnerable to cyber-attacks.”

Cyber security is a growing problem, not just for organisations, but also for the children. According to a recent report by the Children’s Society in the UK1 nearly half (44 percent) of young people spend more than three hours per day on social media, and almost 1 in 10 (9 percent) use social media between midnight and 6am. Alarmingly, the same study found that young people who are currently experiencing mental health problems are more than three times likely to have been bullied online in the last year. This was exacerbated for girls, with 46 percent stating that social media has had a negative impact on their self-esteem.

“Young people need a safety net to help keep bullies at bay,” added Tuteja. “The reality is that young people are spending more time online and bullies have moved from the corner of the playground to all corners of the internet.”

Given the tremendous success of KPMG’s previous Global Cyber Days, the organization expanded its initiative in 2019 to cover any day in October so that more member firms could participate, increasing the number of lessons conducted and young people reached.

“Global Cyber Day supports KPMG’s corporate citizenship focus on Quality Education and Lifelong Learning, and the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals to promote and support safe, effective learning environments,” said Serena Brown, director of Global Corporate Citizenship, KPMG. “Arming young people with knowledge on how they can stay safe online, and make the right choices in this digitally-enabled world, is paramount to helping make our local communities a safer place.”