You may not want your child to join Anonymous, but teaching them about cybersecurity and digital privacy is essential if you want them to stay safe online. You might be thinking to yourself "do I really need to teach them about cybersecurity?" The answer is yes!
Gen Z is 84% more likely to be targeted by fraudsters than 25 to 35-year-olds according to LexisNexis, and there's been a 1000% uplift in financial sextortion cases targeting young teens.
The problem is, where should you start? There are so many resources online for both kids and parents, but there's nothing as powerful as first-hand experience to help them understand the dangers in a safe environment. That's where the Flipper Zero comes in with its cheerful dolphin mascot, Ataaur.
What is a Flipper Zero
The project started out on Kickstarter, raising over $4.88 million – more than four times its original top-end goal. Inspired by the Pwnagotchi project, Flipper created a hacking device that combined all of the most common pen-testing tools and introduced an element of gamification with its beloved dolphin sprite – leveling up as you use the device.
I think the easiest way to describe it is like a hacking Tamagotchi. It teaches you about hacking by enabling you to read, copy, and emulate signals used for digital communication. At its core, it's a light-hearted tool that's designed to educate and support everyone from absolute beginners to seasoned hackers.
There are a bunch of different home screens that show up. I won't show all of them here, because I don't want to ruin the surprise. They're a lot of fun, especially when you come across a new one.
What can you do with a Flipper Zero?
Flipper lets you read and emulate a host of different signal types. It's an entry-level tool to get people into hacking, but don't worry, everything that comes with the official Flipper Zero is perfectly legal and safe. There's no serious mischief that you can get yourself into with Ataaur as it comes. In its base form, Ataaur can read and emulate:
- Bluetooth
- GPIO
- Infrared
- NFC
- RFID
- Sub-GHz
- iButton
As well as this, you can run custom scripts and operate it like a USB remote. You can even play Snake on it! There's so much to do with the Flipper Zero, and that's before you even start to consider the mod kits that can take it even further.
When it comes to setting up the Flipper Zero, you'll need to get a micro SD card as the device doesn't come with one as standard. I recommend going for nothing bigger than 32GB – even that's a little bit overkill.
You can update the device with the Flipper app on your phone, so no need to plug it into your computer.
Join the community
There's so much more than just the device though. There's a wonderful community of people who all love the Flipper Zero, and are keen to see more people trying it out. I'd recommend starting with the Flipper subreddit, before moving on to other communities, or video channels. In fact, the Flipper website has a list of the communities in full.
What does Flipper Zero have to say?
I spoke to the team at Flipper Zero to ask the following questions about kids using the devices and here's what they said:
Did you ever intend the Flipper Zero to be a learning tool?
Absolutely. Flipper Zero was designed to inspire interest in technology, cybersecurity, and electronics. Creating it, we wanted to open the hood of the wireless world for those eager to learn technology daily. Devices like Flipper Zero are perfect for showing people what is inside technologies they use daily, like NFC and radio-controlled devices.
We’ve seen many stories about educators worldwide using Flipper Zero to engage students and teach computer science and cybersecurity. In 2023, inspired by their approach and dedication, we worked closely with a selected group to establish our Educational Program and provide schools and universities with hardware devices, materials, and counsel.
Under this program, partner university students can get a 30% discount on Flipper Zero. We also help educational teams integrate Flipper Zero into their curricula with resources, software, and guidance.
One recent example is a program established by The MakersPlace, which collaborated with JA Ghana and the Association Sailing Stone. Cybersecurity consultants taught students in Accra, Ghana, using Flipper Zero devices provided by the team, along with Arduino and micro:bit boards.
Baffour Osei, a US-based educator, Robotic Labs Manager at Princeton University, Head of Learning and Development at The MakersPlace in Accra, Ghana, and STEAM Education Implementer at DeyGana:
“Flipper Zero is a valuable tool for teaching students about mechatronics, communication, and cybersecurity during our outreach programs, engineering classes, and community impact projects. The Flipper team has provided our education, research, and innovation teams at the MakersPlace and DeyGana with enough devices and accessories to ensure each student and facilitator gets a hands-on experience during lessons, lesson planning, and project development sessions.
"With this significant contribution not only in hardware but also in access to the Flipper team for troubleshooting and other curriculum consulting needs, we can successfully deploy Flipper Zero in more than 20 schools in Accra, Ghana, where we educate 1000+ students in STEAM topics, including but not limited to software development, robotics, CAD and manufacturing, mechatronics, and metacognition for problem-solving”.
What do you think about kids using Flipper Zero?
Young people love Flipper Zero. Often, they see it on TikTok and buy it because it looks cool, even if they don’t know exactly what it is or how to use it. Once they get their hands on it, they turn to the Flipper Zero Discord community, asking, “Hey guys, I just purchased this cool device. I love the dolphin, but what can I do with it? Can you help me out?” The community always responds enthusiastically, suggesting starting with exploring NFC cards or scanning remote control signals.
This curiosity-driven exploration is fantastic for educational purposes. The Flipper Zero looks and feels cool, which draws young people in and encourages them to learn and understand the technology behind it. It becomes a fun and engaging way to gather young minds and educate them about tech.
Kids can benefit from the hands-on experience. It sparks curiosity and a deeper understanding of the technology around us. Flipper Zero helps students learn fundamental concepts in computer science, electronics, and cybersecurity in an engaging way.
What advice would you give to parents giving a child a Flipper Zero?
Don’t be afraid of new technologies. It’s great when parents encourage their children to explore and experiment, guiding them to use electronic devices responsibly and ethically. We recommend that parents utilize the educational materials provided by the Flipper Zero team and community. These resources can help them understand the technical aspects and potential applications of the device.
Young people nowadays don’t have the opportunity to take apart and tinker with their devices like we did. Most modern technology, like iPads, isn’t user-serviceable. You can only take them apart once. Everything is compact and often operates invisibly. For instance, a keycard used to enter a building or garage door opened remotely. Children are naturally curious about how these things work, and Flipper can easily demonstrate it.
We always encourage the use of alternative firmware. For example, integrating Raspberry Pi components with the Flipper Zero can enhance the learning experience.
The open-source nature of Flipper Zero, tons of applications, and add-on components make learning fun and provide practical skills in programming and electronics.
Is the Flipper Zero safe
Everything that comes as standard with the Flipper Zero is safe and legal. However, as with anything cybersecurity, it's as safe as you make it. I won't sit here and pretend like your children won't get up to mischief with it. Expect them to turn off the TV while you're watching it every now and then – harmless pranks that will mildly inconvenience you.
It's highly unlikely your child will commit any crimes with it, but pay attention to what your children do with it. There are communities that exist for modding the Flipper Zero to be a more professional hacking tool. In fact, people used it to hack the iPhone last year so you don't want to give your children unfettered access, just like you wouldn't give them unsupervised access to the internet.
The beginning of something great
Regardless of the more extreme use cases, the Flipper Zero remains an exceptional educational tool for getting your kids into cybersecurity in a way that will actually make them enjoy learning about (and avoiding) the dangers of the internet.
Once they've started learning the basics of network security, they're far more likely to understand the value of using tools like virtual private networks (VPNs) and how the best VPN services keep you safer online every day.
