PITTSBURGH—FBI Pittsburgh congratulates Indiana Junior High School in the Indiana Area School District on winning the national FBI Safe Online Surfing (SOS) Program contest for the month of May in the Sharks category! Students in 6th and 7th grade in the district’s Computer Concepts curriculum class participated in the program.

Last month, more than 150,000 students in 2,200 schools nationwide took the SOS exam in grades 3 through 8. The Sharks category is allotted for schools who enroll more than 100 students in the program and remains the highest category eligible to compete.

The SOS program teaches young people about web terminology and how to recognize secure and trustworthy sites. Other lessons cover how to protect personal details online, create strong passwords, avoid viruses and scams, be wary of strangers and be a good virtual citizen. Students in third through eighth grades and their parents can visit the island that corresponds with their grade level and surf through activities that teach how to recognize hazards and respond appropriately.

“The FBI’s Safe Online Surfing (SOS) Internet Challenge program makes children aware of online threats and gives them the knowledge they need to avoid them,” said FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Mike Christman. “As the FBI sees more and more crimes start online, we are also seeing more schools become involved in this program. This shows the importance of teaching young people web literacy and safety. We are proud of all the students from Indiana Junior High who participated!”

“We are proud of our students for honoring themselves and the entire Indiana Area Junior High School by winning the FBI-SOS (Safe Online Surfing) competition for May of 2020,” said teachers Janice Brocious and Valerie Haney.

Since October 2012, the FBI-SOS website has been visited nearly 3.6 million times, with a total of more than 10.6 million page views. Here is a link to the website for students, parents, and teachers: https://sos.fbi.gov/en/ For media inquiries please call (412) 432-4291 or email cpolicicchio@fbi.gov