FBI's Safe Online Surfing Internet Challenge to Launch for 2023 - 2024 School Year
Free, educational program for children that teaches cyber safety updated with new graphics, interactive content
In the Safe Online Surfing (SOS) Internet Challenge, students navigate through various games and activities on their grade-appropriate island. The SOS website is accessible year-round, but the testing and competition is only open to registered teachers and schools from September through May.
As a new school year begins, the FBI is refreshing its Safe Online Surfing (SOS) Internet Challenge, an educational program that teaches students how to stay safe online and be good cyber citizens through a game-driven, age-appropriate curriculum.
The SOS program, created for students in third through eighth grades, covers topics like cyberbullying, passwords, malware, social media, and more. The program also provides teachers with a curriculum that meets state and federal internet safety mandates.
In the latest version of the program, students experience a more modern and mobile-responsive gaming experience as they make their way through the course. Most importantly, this update addresses and reflects the latest threats kids may face online.
In this example question for fourth graders, students must match terms like password and download to their definitions.
"The Safe Online Surfing program is a great way for teachers and families to prepare students for their journey through cyberspace," said Ken Hoffman, who leads the FBI's national community outreach program. "The interactive platform helps kids build a digital defense against predators and bullies while teaching them how to be responsible cyber citizens."
While taking the course, students guide a robot avatar through six thematic areas, answering true/false, multiple choice, and matching questions along the way. After completing all levels, students will take a final exam.
Since the program’s launch in 2012, more than 1.6 million students have participated in the SOS challenge.
The SOS website and its activities are open year-round, both at home and in the classroom. The challenge opens on September 1 and runs through May. Each month during this timeframe, the classes with the top exam scores nationwide will receive an FBI-SOS certificate and, when possible, receive a congratulatory visit from FBI personnel.
To participate in the challenge, teachers must register their classes at sos.fbi.gov. Teachers manage their students’ participation in the program; the FBI does not collect or store any student information.
Learn more and register your class at sos.fbi.gov.
Learn more about staying safe online:
