Breaking the Fourth Wall: Reflections from a Student-Led Community Cyberhygiene Clinic

• In Event: Deepfakes, Surveillance, and Cyberhygiene

Abstract

Cyberhygiene provides humans with the necessary tools to live most harmoniously with today’s ever-evolving and expanding world of technology. However, this toolbox tends to remain accessible largely to tech gurus and academics more than everyday community members. With technology’s vast cultural, economic and geospatial reach, this deficit proves dangerous and inequitable. This talk showcases a pilot program in which university students breach the four walls of the ivory tower in an effort to make cyberhygiene education more accessible to the surrounding communities. In the Fall 2022 and Spring 2023 semesters, undergraduate and graduate cybersecurity students developed presentations, shared experiences, and fostered conversations about various cyberhygiene topics. Audience members included senior citizens, parents, youth, and others from an array of socioeconomic status from the North Philadelphia community. This talk voices student reflections on the value of experiential learning and shares recommendations for model improvement. The talk concludes by discussing and emphasizing the importance of nurturing community-academia relationships and establishing trust within university-adjacent neighborhoods

Author

• Gabrielle Spence, Temple University