As part of the 2026 National Cybersecurity Awareness Week in mid-September, Sanqiao Town in Huaining County moved its promotional efforts from meeting rooms to village squares, enterprise workshops, and school classrooms in a bid to embed the principle of "cybersecurity for the people, cybersecurity by the people" at the grassroots level.
An "open-air classroom" was set up at the entrance of the Sanqiao Community village office on the morning of September 20, where a simple table, a few stacks of leaflets, and several plastic stools formed the entire teaching setup. The brochures used cartoons to clearly illustrate common fraud tactics such as task-based rebate scams and impersonation of law enforcement authorities. "Grandpa, there is no such thing as a free lunch, and even if one fell from the sky, it wouldn't land in our laps," a volunteer explained, using local dialect and breaking down real-life cases in an accessible way. An officer from the Sanqiao Police Station then took over, using his smartphone for a live demonstration, warning that clicking on a malicious link could lead to bank account information being "phished." The dozen or so elderly residents seated around listened attentively.
The outreach extended beyond the square, as volunteer teams split into groups and visited households to help elderly residents install the "National Anti-Fraud Center" app and set up incoming call alerts. The village broadcasting system announced reminders three times a day, while WeChat groups received daily safety notifications, allowing security tips to travel through the streets and lanes into every home.
A "risk checklist" was presented to key enterprises in the jurisdiction, offering not product parameters but a detailed overview of network vulnerabilities. Staff explained how to protect office terminals, identify phishing emails, and manage data classification, drawing on real cases involving data breaches and ransomware attacks. Wang Chunlian, the head of Sanqiao Tongda E-Commerce Co., Ltd., remarked, "In the past, I always thought cybersecurity was a matter for the IT department. Today, I understand that every position and every computer is part of the defense line. We will make improvements based on this checklist."
At the Sanqiao Town Central School, a themed class featured engaging animated videos on science and technology and a lively quiz session with enthusiastic participation. The students crafted colorful handwritten posters illustrating the concepts of "civilized and safe internet use." Additionally, the school appointed students as "Little Cybersecurity Ambassadors" to take informational materials home. One third-grade student, Zhang, said, "Dad, you can't click on unfamiliar links, my teacher told us!" which brought a smile to his parents' faces.
A single student can influence a family, and a family can influence an entire neighborhood—this is the relay effect Sanqiao Town has carefully designed. Throughout the awareness week, the town distributed over 500 informational materials, conducted more than 10 promotional sessions, and reached over 2,000 residents, steadily strengthening the atmosphere of shared responsibility and participation in cybersecurity. In the coming phase, Sanqiao Town will integrate cybersecurity publicity into its grid-based management and volunteer services, relying on village-level venues for regular activities to transform safety awareness from a passing trend into a daily routine. This grassroots "small-scale" approach is intended to safeguard the "big picture" of a secure cyberspace, contributing Sanqiao's strength to the construction of a safer Huaining County.