← ACARA Digital Technologies Years 7–8

Creating a cyber safety awareness message

A poster, infographic or short video that tells an audience how to spot one cyber threat and what to do about it. It uses one clear message and is fact-checked before it is shared.

Part of: ACARA Digital Technologies Years 7–8 — Networks and Cyber Threats — Module 75, ACARA Digital Technologies Years 9–10 — Cyber Security Threats and Vulnerabilities — Module 96

Understanding Creating a cyber safety awareness message in ACARA Digital Technologies Years 7–8

What it does: The title names one threat (phishing) and one skill (spotting links), so the message stays clear and simple. Short action steps in plain language give students, staff and families something clear to do, which suits the whole school community. Good messages give practical steps. Scaring people without telling them what to do does not help. One short, clear instruction is easy to remember. A list of many topics blurs the message. Wrong advice can put people at risk. Fact-check with a trusted source, such as the Australian Cyber Security Centre or eSafety, before sharing. Trusted sources are official and up to date. Unknown posts may be wrong or may be a scam.

Common mistakes: The message must be fact-checked before it is shared. The line should be 'if checked: publish()', so the poster is only published once the facts are checked. Facts must be checked against reliable sources, not guessed. The line should be 'check_facts(sources)'.

Class: _____________________ · Name: _____________________ · Date: _________

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This module's key terms are also in a printable crossword (Modules 696–726) and word search (Modules 696–770).

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Each concept is reinforced from every angle — learned, then applied, then tested.

Learning

Duo

Which is a better focus for one awareness poster?

Every cyber threat squeezed onto one posterOne threat, such as phishing, and how to respond to it

Matches

Poster title: Phishing, Malware, Ransomware, Spyware and Spoofing All Explained

↓

The poster tries to cover too many threats at once, so the message is not clear. It should focus on one threat.

Applying

Meanings

Term

awareness message

Meaning

A poster, infographic or short video that tells an audience how to spot one cyber threat and what to do about it. It uses one clear message and is fact-checked before it is shared.

Practice

Testing

Gaps

<>Think before you click!</h1>

Check Answer

Spots

3message = "Check the sender"

4if not checked: publish()

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Quick Questions

1. Which is a better focus for one awareness poster?

A. Every cyber threat squeezed onto one poster

B. One threat, such as phishing, and how to respond to it ✓

A clear awareness message focuses on one threat. Too many ideas make the poster hard to read and remember.

2. What should an awareness message tell its audience?

A. How to spot the threat and what to do about it ✓

B. Only that the internet is dangerous

Good messages give practical steps. Scaring people without telling them what to do does not help.

3. Which slogan is the clearer single message?

A. Think before you click: check the link first ✓

B. Passwords, viruses, Wi-Fi, phishing, updates and more!

One short, clear instruction is easy to remember. A list of many topics blurs the message.

4. Your audience is the whole school community, including Year 7 students and parents. Which wording suits them?

A. Simple words like 'fake message' and 'strong passphrase' ✓

B. Heavy jargon that only IT experts understand

A school community includes many ages and skill levels, so the message should use plain language everyone can follow.

5. Before publishing your phishing poster, what should you do?

A. Share it straight away because it looks good

B. Check your facts against a trusted source ✓

Wrong advice can put people at risk. Fact-check with a trusted source, such as the Australian Cyber Security Centre or eSafety, before sharing.

Match the Pairs

awareness message → A poster, infographic or short video that tells an audience how to spot one cyber threat and what to do about it

fact-check before sharing → Checking that your threat details and advice are correct using trusted sources before you publish the message

A good awareness message focuses on one clear message about one threat → Poster title: Spot the Phishing Link

A message for the school community should tell people what to do about the threat → Tip: Do not click. Report it to your teacher.

Poster title: Phishing, Malware, Ransomware, Spyware and Spoofing All Explained → The poster tries to cover too many threats at once, so the message is not clear. It should focus on one threat.

Video script: I heard hackers can break any password in one second, so share this now! → The claim was not fact-checked before publishing. Check it with a trusted source such as the eSafety Commissioner first.

Key Term

awareness message

A poster, infographic or short video that tells an audience how to spot one cyber threat and what to do about it. It uses one clear message and is fact-checked before it is shared.

Fill in the Blanks

1. <h1>Think before you click!</h1>

Hint: Type the tag for the main heading that holds the one clear message.

2. <p>Check the sender and the link.</p>

Hint: Type the tag that closes a paragraph of poster text.

3. <ul> <li>Report it to a teacher</li> </ul>

Hint: Type the tag for an unordered (bullet) list that shows the action steps.

4. <img src="phish.png" alt="Fake email">

Hint: Type the attribute that gives a text description of the image.

5. IF factsChecked = true THEN publish(poster) END IF

Hint: Type the value that means the facts were checked, so the poster is safe to share.

Spot the Error

Question 1

A threat = "phishing"

B audience = "Year 7 students"

C message = "Check the sender"

D if not checked: publish()

Line D — The message must be fact-checked before it is shared. The line should be 'if checked: publish()', so the poster is only published once the facts are checked.

Question 2

A threat = "smishing"

B format = "poster"

C message = "Do not tap links"

D guess_facts(sources)

E publish(poster)

Line D — Facts must be checked against reliable sources, not guessed. The line should be 'check_facts(sources)'.

Question 3

A threat = "ransomware"

B format = "short video"

C message_count = 5

D audience = "school community"

Line C — An awareness message should have one clear message. The count should be 1, not 5, so the audience remembers it.

Question 4

A threat = "spyware"

B audience = "hackers"

C message = "Check app sources"

D check_facts(sources)

Line B — The message is written for the school community (students, staff and families), not for attackers. It should be 'audience = "school community"'.

Question 5

A threat = "phishing"

B action = "Click to test it"

C message = "Spot fake senders"

D make(poster)

Line B — An awareness message must tell people the safe action to take. Clicking a suspicious link is unsafe. The action should be to report the message and then delete it.

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