Catalan Cybersecurity Agency launches game to raise awareness of online dangers  

To mark International Safer Internet Day, the Catalan Cybersecurity Agency has launched a new campaign called 'The Hacker Wins’.

The campaign aims to educate children, teenagers, and adults about the dangers of social media and the Internet while providing tools to combat them.

As part of the campaign, the agency has created an interactive game, also called 'The Hacker Wins’, that allows the player to both test their knowledge of internet safety and learn about how to stay safe in the digital world through detailed explanations.

A game for all ages 

The game is available in three different versions for different age groups: one for children between the ages of 9 to 12, another for teenagers, and lastly, one for adults.

According to Laura Caballero, the director of the Catalan Cybersecurity Agency, having the right tools is the only way to fight the online dangers.

“We shouldn’t be afraid of the Internet, but we need to have some basic knowledge about what we should and shouldn’t do online,” Caballero says, adding that “we want for people to have enough skills” to avoid what she calls “bad actors” online.

Cybersecurity in school

The game has also been distributed to all primary and secondary schools in Catalonia for it to be used as a classroom activity.

“It’s fundamental to stimulate the cybersecurity skills, not only for the future but for also the present,” explains Caballero. A bonus, according to the director, is that children are easy learners and can go home and teach their parents and grandparents what they have learned about staying safe online.

Different dangers

The material has been adapted to the different challenges and dangers faced by each age group.

Younger children are the most vulnerable when playing online games, and are more likely to be cyberbullied or to fall prey to adult predators posing as minors.

With this in mind, the children’s version of 'The Hacker Wins’ teaches children not to give out private information, to create strong passwords, and not to talk to strangers online.

When it comes to teenagers, they are most at risk of becoming victims of cyberbullying, sextortion, online scams, or viruses.

In fact, 20% of all minors in Spain who have sent intimate photos have been victims of sextortion, according to a report by the EU Kids Online research group.

For adults, the campaign material focuses primarily on raising awareness about how to avoid identity theft and cyber fraud.

As of September 2024, more than 50,000 reports of cyber scams had been registered in Catalonia, according to data from the Spanish Interior Ministry.