Page 17 - 伊利沙伯中學舊生會湯國華中學

National Security Short Speech Competition

The Firewall in Our Pockets
The Firewall in Our Pockets

1A Fong Hoi Kiu Carina

Good morning, teachers, and friends.
When we hear 'National Security,' we usually think of borders or special agents, notions
way above our heads. But honestly? The real frontline is right here. It’s in our pockets.

I used to think cybersecurity was just a boring IT notion. I thought, 'Who cares if I get
hacked? I’m nobody.'

That changed when my grandmother got a scam message pretending to be one from the
government. She panicked and almost lost her life savings. Helping her calm down, I realized
something: A secure city is made of security-conscious citizens.

Hong Kong is hyper-connected. But if hackers can trick us, they can use our devices
to attack our city’s infrastructure. My phone could become a weapon against my own home
without me even knowing it.
So, what can a student do? We don't need to be spies. We just need to be the 'IT support'
for our community.

It means pausing to fact-check a link before sharing it in the group chat. It means helping
our neighbors set up two-factor authentication so that they don't become victims.

We grew up online. We know this world. By keeping our digital habits clean and helping
others do the same, we aren't just fixing phones. We are protecting our home.
Thank you.

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