Storypass: Password rules hidden in a storytelling toy

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Today, children, the so-called digital natives, are growing up at ease with digital devices and they have access to them on a daily basis. As a result, many experts have developed, within the last few years, ample tools and practices for education practitioners, parents and children in order to help the latter group to adopt a safe online behaviour and be raised as responsible digital citizens. Among the elements of the digital citizenship (according to ISTE Standards) the issue of password security is one of the top priorities. As past research has shown that children shape their habits by observing (imitation) and recognizing patterns within their experiences (induction), it is essential to design learning experiences that help them understand password issues from a very young age. StoryPass is an (offline) prototype game which aims to sensitize young children on the importance of keeping their information private and using strong passwords for their log-ins and sign-ups. Capitalizing on the knowledge gained in the area of password robustness and entropy, this toy idea uses a creative storytelling method in an attempt to deepen children’s understanding of password security issues.