Danilo, 18, is attending his last year at the Istituto Tecnico tecnologico “Pennella Vallauri” in Reggio Calabria. He defines himself as a young activist, is a school representative and Vice President of the Provincial Council. He collaborates with the Agape Community Centre, which was founded in 1968 by Don Italo Calabrò. Recently, he has been very busy promoting the Manifesto of Calabrian Youth.
As part of European Project TRUST aWARE - Enhancing Digital Security, Privacy and TRUST in softWARE, Danilo has participated in a group discussion held with a specific methodology: interview as a conversation [see news: Trust aWARE Research].
He stopped to chat with us and told us about his studies and projects for the future. We tried to understand why he became interested in the issue of on-line security and the awareness of his peers on IT threats.
“I’m considering the Polytechnic in Milan and Turin, as well as the Bocconi and Cattolica Universities. In fact, I’m not quite sure what to study, yet. I have loved law since my first year of high school and I have been taking mock entrance exams since my third year. However, with the pandemic, I realized that I am also interested in IT and more specifically cybersecurity,” explains Danilo.
“In a technical high school like mine, IT and web security are a fundamental part of the curriculum. Moreover, I have also taken courses on network creation, management and protection. I must say that before I actually studied these topics, I could care less about IT security. The courses raised my awareness and I realised it was an important issue.”
Are your peers as prudent as yourself now that you are aware about this problem?
“Some are, others aren’t. I’d say about 50-50. In fact, we often have a very low perception of on-line risk. For example, we never immediately notice if our data has been stolen.”
How can we make young men and women more aware of these issues? Danilo has no doubts. “The answer is always the same: school. We need to raise the awareness of students at school from a young age.”
Danilo also has some suggestions for his peers. “I recommend that no one surfs on unreliable websites, like those that do not request that treatment of personal data and install an antivirus. If you’re an expert, install a firewall, too. Moreover, when you purchase items on-line, use prepaid cards that are not directly connected to your bank account and do not always use the same e-mail account.”
Danilo’s dreams and projects for the future?
“I would like to make it in Calabria. This region needs to liven up. It needs more space dedicated to young men and women, and a lot of investments. We do not want to have to go North to excel.”
