The Department of Education in France has launched a national campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of cybercrime by sending a fake phishing mail to 2.5 million students.
Both schools and students in France are regularly targeted by hackers via their digital workspaces.
Young people between the ages of 11 and 18 are particularly susceptible to exposure to digital risks. According to the Department of Education, they often show “an excess of confidence in their digital uses” and “don’t always adopt the right reflexes.”
Operation Cactus was developed to raise awareness of students' overconfidence in their digital skills and knowledge. The goal is to encourage students and their families to be cautious of scammers and warn them of the dangers and risks of cybercrime.
Last year, Operation Cactus was tested in Orleans-Tours and Versailles. This year, from March 19th to March 21st, it was deployed on a national level.
More than 2.5 million students in over 4,700 middle and high schools received an email on their digital workspace. The message urged them to click on a link that would lead them to a website where they could download pirated video games and cheats for free. More than 210,000 students clicked on the malicious link.
Instead of pirated software, they got to see a video educating them on the risks of illegal actions on the internet. In the video, a professional e-sports player reveals that he doesn’t need cheats to win. A police officer tells about simple rules and best practices. Lastly, a prosecutor explains how the judicial system prosecutes cybercriminals, and what kinds of penalties there are in store for them.
The Commission Nationale de l’ Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL), France’s data protection authority (DPA), says in a statement that the authorities are committed to protecting students from engaging in cybercriminal activities, for example, by organizing awareness sessions in classes.
For this purpose, cybersecurity professionals have built a kit containing explanations and educational resources to allow teachers to continue their guidance on cybercrime.
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