Making digital security practical: what businesses and families learned in Nijmegen

Digital security still feels technical and complicated for many people. But what happens when you make it practical and interactive instead?

During the Echt Niet Vandaag event in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, it became clear that cybersecurity can be understandable, for children, parents, and business owners. No dry theory, but concrete experiences that can be applied directly in daily life.

What is the Echt Niet Vandaag event?

The Echt Niet Vandaag event is an initiative focused on increasing awareness around digital security. During this day, different target groups, from families to business owners, came to the VASIM in Nijmegen to learn about online risks and solutions in an accessible way.

Interactive approach makes digital security tangible

What made this event different was the focus on experience. Instead of only sharing information, visitors could experience for themselves how digital security works. Families formed a large part of the audience. Children actively joined interactive activities, while parents at the same time gained insight into topics such as:

• online risks
• safe internet use
• digital resilience

This combination made sure that parents and children started talking together about online behaviour, an important first step in awareness.

The atmosphere was open and energetic, with a constant flow of visitors who actively joined the different activities. What stood out immediately: digital security did not become an abstract subject here, but something you can experience and apply.

Interactive digital security activities

Families especially found their way to the event. Children enthusiastically started working with interactive activities, while parents gained insight into online risks in an accessible way. That combination worked very well: not only sending information, but discovering together. Conversations regularly started between parent and child about online behaviour — exactly where awareness begins.

HackShield: learning about cybersecurity through play

A good example of this was HackShield. Children aged 8 to 12 learned through a game how to protect themselves and others online. They played levels, completed tasks, and became ‘cyber agents’ in a playful way. During the event, prizes were awarded by Hubert Bruls, and even a participant aged 5.5 won a prize, a nice proof that this topic starts to live at a young age.

Website security for business owners: practical insights

There was also attention for digital security for business owners. I was there with db8 Website Support with a stand focused on website security.

With websites, the weakest link often creates a risk for security. To make the different layers clear, from the Linux operating system and the web server to the database, PHP, and the CMS (such as WordPress or Joomla), I used green and red blocks to show how outdated software can make the whole website vulnerable.

With practical tools, websites could be checked directly for vulnerabilities. Common risks that came forward were:

• outdated software
• missing security updates
• basic configurations that are not set optimally

What stood out to me as a website specialist: many business owners assume their website is secure, while a quick check often already shows points for improvement. Those direct insights made the conversations concrete and valuable.

The number of business owners was slightly lower than expected. At the same time, that created space for deeper conversations. Instead of quick interactions, meaningful discussions started about risks, responsibility, and practical solutions. That quality made it more valuable in the end than only numbers.

Why these kinds of events are important

Digital security is often seen as complex and technical. This event showed that it can also be different: accessible, understandable, and directly applicable. By combining awareness with interaction:

• you reach a broader audience
• you encourage behaviour change
• you increase digital resilience

The Echt Niet Vandaag event in Nijmegen was a strong step towards a digitally resilient society. By bringing different target groups together and making digital security practical, real impact is created.

The most important lesson: digital security does not have to be complicated, as long as you make it understandable and relevant.

We look back on an intensive and successful day that passed very quickly. But more importantly: initiatives like this show that a digitally resilient society is not something far away, but something you can start building today.

Do you want to know how secure your website really is?

With a quick check, vulnerabilities often become visible immediately, so you can improve them in a targeted way before something goes wrong.

Would you like to know how secure your website is?