Students will take online mock tests on information security knowledge starting in March.

VNISA has just updated its plan for the third season of the 'Students and Information Security 2024' competition. According to this plan, this year's competition will take place from March to May.

The online mock exam system is expected to open in early March. The two main rounds of the competition will take place from March 20th to April 15th (preliminary round) and the final round from April 22nd to April 25th. The awards ceremony and a seminar on protecting children online will be held in May.

Continuing with the online exam format on the website thihsattt.vn, students participating in this year's "Students and Information Security" competition will take a 24-question multiple-choice test in 30 minutes. The exam content covers general knowledge related to information security and protecting children in cyberspace.

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2023 marks the third year the "Students and Information Security" competition has been held, contributing to equipping students with the knowledge and skills to stay safe when participating in the online environment.

According to the organizers' instructions, each student is only allowed to register one competition account. After successfully registering an account, during the competition period, contestants will log in to review, take practice tests, and take the official exam.

After answering all the questions or when the time runs out, candidates click the 'Submit' button to complete the exam. The system will automatically record the results, the time taken, and calculate the score for the candidate. The time the online practice exam system is open is an opportunity for students to familiarize themselves with the format and content of the exam. Therefore, students can take the practice exam multiple times, and each time they take a practice exam, they can review their results.

Regarding the prize structure, this year the Organizing Committee will award 100 individual prizes, including 3 First Prizes, 8 Second Prizes, 15 Third Prizes, and 74 Consolation Prizes. In addition, there will be 11 team prizes awarded, with 3 First Prizes to the 3 Departments of Education and Training with the highest student participation rates; 3 First Prizes to the 3 schools with the most participating students; and 5 Second Prizes to the 5 schools with the next highest number of participating students.

According to statistics, in 2023, the "Students and Information Security" competition attracted 740,250 participants from 5,417 schools in 63 provinces and cities, an increase of approximately 20% compared to the first year the competition was held. This year, the organizing committee expects the number of junior high school students participating in the competition to exceed 1 million.

The competition contributes to equipping students with digital skills.

'Students and Information Security' is an online competition for junior high school students nationwide, organized by VNISA since 2022, with the sponsorship of three ministries: Education and Training; Information and Communications; and Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs.

As part of VNISA's annual series of events, the competition aims to promote and provide knowledge and skills for safe internet use to students and their parents nationwide; to create a healthy and beneficial playground that fosters students' thinking abilities, helping them identify and prevent risks and insecurity in the online environment. Through this, it contributes to the Prime Minister 's program on "Protecting and supporting children's healthy and creative interaction in the online environment".

The Ministry of Information and Communications assessed that the "Students and Information Security" competition has contributed to equipping students with the necessary skills and knowledge to protect themselves when participating in the online environment, thereby working together to solve an urgent and necessary social problem in the digital transformation era.

According to the Vietnam Cyber ​​Emergency Response Center (VNCERT/CC) under the Department of Information Security (Ministry of Information and Communications), the permanent agency of the Network for Child Protection and Response in the Online Environment, after 3 years of implementing the 'Program to protect and support children's healthy and creative interaction in the online environment', many activities aimed at raising awareness and equipping students with skills have been implemented by agencies, organizations, and businesses.

Besides the "Students and Information Security" competition, which has been held for over two years, many other communication and educational activities have also been organized, with the common goal of providing knowledge and skills to help people protect children in cyberspace.

These activities include: a game idea competition on the theme of child protection; training on child protection in the online environment for counselors and collaborators of the 111 hotline; and the deployment of communication channels for child protection in the online environment, including the website, fanpage, YouTube, and TikTok of the Network for Child Rescue and Protection in the Online Environment.

In the coming period, along with developing the product ecosystem and a system of tools to support child protection, communication activities, awareness raising, and skills training will continue to be key areas of focus for the Network for Child Rescue and Protection in the Online Environment. Specifically, the Network will continue to promote communication on child protection online targeting children, parents, caregivers, teachers, and child protection officers.

Online scams and bullying affect children in both urban and rural areas . With the widespread use of the internet and social media, even in rural areas, experts agree that children in rural and remote regions are also facing online risks – scams and bullying – just like children in cities.