Imagine you have a big, strong castle. This castle is like your computer or any device you use to go online. Now, imagine that there are sneaky robbers (hackers) who want to get into your castle to steal treasures (your personal information) or cause trouble. These robbers use various tricks to get inside, like finding a door you forgot to lock (clicking on a bad link) or sneaking in by pretending to be a friend (scams or phishing emails).
Humans, like us, are often the reason these robbers can get into our castles. We might not lock all the doors properly (not updating our software), use easy-to-guess passwords (like "password" or "1234"), or even leave the keys out where robbers can find them (using the same password everywhere or downloading unsafe apps).
Back in 2017, there was a big attack called WannaCry. It was like a super-fast robber that could break into thousands of castles all over the world because many people hadn't fixed a known weak spot in their castle walls (they didn't update their Windows operating system with a security patch that was already available).
Also, when we're out and about, like at a coffee shop, and we use our phones or laptops, it's like working in a castle with big windows where robbers can peek in (unsecured networks). We might not notice them because we're busy or distracted.
To keep our castles safe, we need to be like careful guards. This means always checking who's knocking before opening the door (verifying emails and requests), changing the locks regularly (updating passwords and software), and making sure we don't leave keys lying around (being cautious about what we download or where we log in).
Just like in those old stories where townspeople would prepare for robbers by being smart and working together, we need to do the same with our digital castles. By paying attention and being careful, we can keep the treasures inside our castles safe from those sneaky robbers.