KPN Guest Lecture on Digital Safety for Pupils of Primary School in The Hague

At the start of Cybersecurity Week 2025, pupils of group 7 and 8 at 'De Bras' Primary School in The Hague dived into the digital world and learned how to navigate in a safe way. Ron Oostveen, cybersecurity specialist from KPN visited the school and gave a special interactive guest lecture. 

Ron: "Children grow up in a world full of apps, games and social media, but often don't know what risks lie behind them. During the guest lecture, they learn how to use the internet more smartly and safely. For children it is hard to recognise if the other person in the chat is the person who they believe it is and if that person has best intentions with them.”

The lesson consists of three appealing parts:

• Deciphering passwords – How easy is it to guess a password? The pupils did their own research via Google and discovered why strong passwords are really important.
  
  
• Social engineering in practice – Using ChatGPT, a story was created in the language of a 10- or 11-year-old. This allows the children to experience how easy it is for someone to pretend to be someone else online and why you need to be critical in conversations.
  
  
• Illegal software – What are the risks of downloading programmes or games that are not legal? Pupils learned about the dangers behind such downloads, such as viruses or fake accounts.

In addition, the children receive practical tips for smart and safe use of social media. They discovered what you should and should not share, how you can better protect your privacy, and what consequences risky behaviour online can have.

With this guest lesson, KPN not only wants to make children aware of their digital behaviour, but also to give them practical skills. In this way, they learn to make choices today that will protect them in the future, and they become stronger in the digital world in which they live every day.

Cybersecurity Week (CSW) in The Hague

Cybersecurity week is all about exchanging knowledge across borders and between businesses, knowledge institutions and governments to secure our digitalised world together. But did you know that the 2025 edition has an extra focus on bringing cybersecurity awareness to the residents of the city of The Hague? Making CSW not only about sharing knowledge, collaboration and innovation amongst professionals. But also, about helping people (young & old) and entrepreneurs being aware of the dangers of cybercrime and how to be prepared. Amongst the activities are:

1) Event online scams for 65+ people

On 2 Oct, a special event about online scams takes place for people aged 65 and over, at Vadercentrum Adam. The police will provide information about the latest tricks used by fraudsters and advice on how to respond to a suspicious situation.

2) Cyber Roadshow

During this roadshow on 3 Oct, The Hague together with various partners provide entrepreneurs and residents with more information about cybersecurity. The roadshow will visit Belgisch Park, Aert van der Goesstraat, Frederik Hendriklaan, Harbour and Boulevard Scheveningen.

3) Award session

The Mayor of The Hague, Jan van Zanen, will present an award to a person or organisation that has made a special contribution to strengthening the digital resilience of residents and/or entrepreneurs in The Hague. This will take place on 3 Oct at Scheveningen Boulevard from 15:30 to 16:00h.

4) Online cybersecurity awareness campaign

During CSW there will also be an online campaign for making entrepreneurs in The Hague more aware about cybersecurity.

More info: www.cybersecurityweek.nl