You are here: Headline News
The theme of this year’s Safer Internet Day (9 February) was online personal data protection, presented under the title “Think before you post”.
Once again, Cytanet participated in the international events marking the day and, on 10 February; it organized a special seminar on this year’s theme for its English-speaking customers.
Cytanet’s aim was to inform Internet users, particularly young people, about the security and protection of personal data so that everyone in society may enjoy a safer cyber environment.
The seminar was attended, among others, by a large number of secondary school pupils, their teachers and parents, and an address was delivered by a representative of the Minister of Education & Culture.
Youla Frangou, Commissioner for Personal Data Protection, spoke on “Personal Data: Legislation, Rights and Obligations”; Dr Michalis Vafopoulos, Coordinator of the postgraduate programme in web science at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, dealt with “Social Networks: Real Life Choices and New Possibilities”; and Nikos Vasilakos, President of the Hellenic Internet Users Association, addressed the issue of “Posting Personal Data and Taking Protective Measures”.
After the presentations by the three main speakers, a discussion took place, moderated by Yiannis Laouris, Director of the CyberEthics Project. On the panel were: Marcos Nicolettis, Head of Electronic Crime Prevention, Cyprus Police; Lawrence Kalogreades, Coordinator of the Safer Internet Helpline; Alecos Alexandrou, Head of Cyta’s Data Management Services; Michalis Tortouris of the Ministry of Education & Culture; and, of course, a number of secondary school pupils.
During the discussion, the pupils expressed their views and experiences concerning the issue of personal data security and had their questions answered directly by the experts. Not only was their knowledge of online personal data protection enriched but their remarks were recorded by all the involved authorities for study and follow-up.
In his initial assessment of the event, Alecos Alexandrou, Head of Cyta’s Data Management Services, said that it represented a small step in the team effort to keep people, young people in particular, informed about this serious issue and he expressed the wish that the effort will continue on the part of all those involved.