Teach Your Children About Safer Cyber Security

Children are now younger when they are exposed to the Internet via various devices, including mobile phones, tablets, computers and gaming consoles. As they play, watch media or interact with others online, they are vulnerable to cyber-bullying, grooming, hacking, identity theft and phishing.

Internet safety and cyber security are vital parts of technology education, and parents and teachers should share the burden to ensure youngsters can navigate the digital world safely.

Getting a child their first phone is a milestone that can cause distress for parents. Security software that includes parental controls, screen time and content filtering helps in protecting children from the internet’s dangers.
In addition, you should have a talk with your child about safe online behavior. Agree on digital rules, just like you have agreed on rules for keeping the room tidy, doing home¬work, being polite and having bed¬times.

Children are online more often than most parents would prefer. And often adults can’t watch their children’s digital activity and this can be stressful for parents wanting to keep their children safe Online. 

Research by Kaspersky shows the enormity of the challenge:  

  • 73% of teenagers can’t imagine life without a smartphone, and half of them take their phone to bed.
  • 44% of kids aged 8 to 16 are online constantly, with a preference for entertainment and social media apps.
  • 40% of children reveal sensitive information online, including their home address.
  • A third of young people lie about their age online. 
  • 37% of kids have experienced online dangers, including bullying, financial threats, and inappropriate content

As a parent, you can’t watch every single thing that your kid does on their smartphone and your laptop. If you want to keep your kids safe, you first must understand the dangers they face when they go online. When you’re fully educated, you can help steer them away from risk, so they can have fun while staying safe. 

In general, there are 3 major threats that children face when they go online:

Strangers: Predators do lurk on sites that attract children, such as social media and online games. These predators will often pretend to be children themselves, a technique known as Catfishing. 
There are also hackers and cyber-criminals who will target anyone with poor security, whether they’re a child or an adult. They may also try to trick the child into sharing passwords or payment details.

Peers: Your child may experience bullying or harassment from kids they know. This can often happen on private chats in social media and messaging apps. Sometimes, other children may share private information about your child, which can cause great distress. If this data is sexual in nature, such as intimate pictures, this might constitute a criminal offence.

Self: Unsupervised children are themselves a risk online. They often click buttons or install software without understanding the consequences of their actions. They might also publicly post private information, such as their date of birth or address.

Some of these are social threats, which means that they involve extortion or manipulation. Often, someone will gain your child’s trust and then take advantage of that trust. To safeguard against these threats, your child will need to know how to have safe interactions with other people. Others are digital threats, which means that someone uses technology to access your data. This could involve malware, which is malicious software that steals your data, or phishing which tricks someone into visiting a fake website. 

Online security is a challenge for adults, never mind children. There are so many sophisticated threats out there that your child may run into issues even if they follow all the rules. Adults stay safe online by using tools to help them avoid the main threats that they face when using digital services. Every device in your household should have tools such as:

Anti-virus: This is the cornerstone of internet security. It runs in the background and protects you from viruses, including trojans, spyware, and ransomware. When a malicious program tries to infect your device, your anti-virus will stop it.

Anti-phishing: Phishing is one of the most popular cybercrime techniques because it is so simple yet so devastating. You need additional protection to help prevent your or your child from accidentally clicking a phony link.

Webcam protection: If someone gains access to a webcam, they may be able to spy on you or your children. In the age of Zoom school, you can’t simply disable the webcam. Instead, you need something that will keep you safe from this hazard.

Content blocker: The best way to avoid hackers and viruses is to stay away from unsafe content. You can use content blockers to permanently prevent kids from visiting the bad part of the internet.
VPN: A VPN essentially safeguards your data when moving from one place to another. This is especially important if your child is using a public WiFi connection, like the one at school.

Password protector: Kids have a very hard time following strong password processes. A password protector will create a robust password for them and keep it safe for the next time they log in. This kind of software can help prevent the kind of accidental danger that might befall anyone online. 

Internet Safety Tips For Kids

1. Talk to adults if you see some¬thing upsetting: There is a lot of content online that might make you feel bad. If you see some¬thing scary or disturbing, close the web¬site, app or video, and tell your parents about it. Seeing some¬thing like that is not your fault at all and it is always good if you tell adults about it.

2. Be nice: Treat others with respect online, just like you do in real life. Behave politely and take other people’s feelings into account when you chat with them, comment on their photos or play games together. Being kind your¬self will make the internet a nicer place. Don’t leave anyone out or bully others. If you see cyber¬bullying, stand up for others and tell adults.

3. Be suspicious: You can learn wonderful new things on the Internet, but there is also a lot of false information. Keep in mind that anyone can post things online and not every¬thing you see is true. Beware of fake news, ads that try to trick you to click by offering rewards, and unknown down¬loads that could contain viruses or malware. If some¬thing feels too good to be true, it probably is.

4. Be careful with strangers: Your Internet friends are different from real-world friends. You shouldn’t tell them every¬thing that you can tell your real friends. Some¬times people online pretend to be some¬one they are not. Tell your parents if you feel uncomfortable about a chat with your online friend even if they ask you to keep a secret. Never meet with a stranger in person without your parents’ approval and presence.

5. Keep private information to yourself: Your pass¬words, location, home address, phone number, school name and other personal information only belong only to you and your parents. Don’t share this information with anyone else. If some¬one gets a hold of your login credentials, they can pretend to be you or steal information from your accounts. You should have a different pass¬word for every account. Ask help for creating and storing pass¬words from your parents.

6. Avoid too much screen time: It is easy to lose track of time when you are having fun online. How¬ever, too much screen time is not good for you. You should also have enough time for active play, exercise, school¬work and friends. Agree with your parents, when and where you can use your devices. For example, phones and other devices do not belong to dinner table and should not be used after bed¬time in many families.

7. Share photos only with people you know: Sending your pictures to strangers is not a good idea. Only share your personal photos with your family members. When you appear in photos, make sure you are fully clothed. Never post pictures about others online without asking their permission.

Conclusion

Cyber security is no longer just an issue for businesses and governments to worry about. It’s everyone’s responsibility to ensure that they stay safe online. With children spending more and more time on the Internet, it’s essential that we teach them good cyber security practices from an early age.

The risks of not doing so can be disastrous, from identity theft to cyberbullying and everything in between. It’s vital that we make sure our children are equipped to deal with these online dangers. By teaching children about the importance of cyber security, we can empower them to stay safe online.

NSPCC   |   Kaspersky   |   Kaspersky   |   Kaspersky   |     Strategy Education   |  f-secure   |  Parent Shield  |   

Our Safer Schools 

Image: Unsplash

You Might Also Read: 

Joint UK & US Statement On Child Protection:


If you like this website and use the comprehensive 7,000-plus service supplier Directory, you can get unrestricted access, including the exclusive in-depth Directors Report series, by signing up for a Premium Subscription.

  • Individual £5 per month or £50 per year. Sign Up
  • Multi-User, Corporate & Library Accounts Available on Request

Cyber Security Intelligence: Captured Organised & Accessible




 

« Getting A Return On Cybersecurity Investment
AI-Driven Air Defense System Takes Aim At Drones »

ManageEngine
CyberSecurity Jobsite
Check Point

Directory of Suppliers

DigitalStakeout

DigitalStakeout

DigitalStakeout enables cyber security professionals to reduce cyber risk to their organization with proactive security solutions, providing immediate improvement in security posture and ROI.

Tines

Tines

The Tines security automation platform helps security teams automate manual tasks, making them more effective and efficient.

North Infosec Testing (North IT)

North Infosec Testing (North IT)

North IT (North Infosec Testing) are an award-winning provider of web, software, and application penetration testing.

Clayden Law

Clayden Law

Clayden Law advise global businesses that buy and sell technology products and services. We are experts in information technology, data privacy and cybersecurity law.

IT Governance

IT Governance

IT Governance is a leading global provider of information security solutions. Download our free guide and find out how ISO 27001 can help protect your organisation's information.

Caliber Security Partners

Caliber Security Partners

Caliber Security Partners is a full-service information security company, with a wide range of security services for clients with varying levels of security maturity.

Academic Centres of Excellence in Cyber Security Research

Academic Centres of Excellence in Cyber Security Research

The ACE-CSRs scheme is part of the UK Government’s National Cyber Security Strategy, working with academia and industry to make the UK more resilient to cyber attacks.

Thales

Thales

Thales provides solutions, services and products that help its customers in the defence, aeronautics, space, transportation and digital identity and security markets to fulfil their critical missions.

CLUSIS

CLUSIS

CLUSIS is an association for the information security industry in Switzerland.

IDpendant

IDpendant

IDpendant offers a wide range of services, including authentication technology, client security products, single sign on systems, encryption solutions, card and mobile device management systems.

SecuDrive

SecuDrive

SecuDrive, provides hardware encrypted external storage devices to protect a company’s sensitive and important data.

Dataships

Dataships

We help companies automate their privacy compliance while building healthy, transparent data relationships with their customers.

BIRD Cyber

BIRD Cyber

BIRD Cyber is a program to promote collaboration on cybersecurity and emerging technologies aimed at enhancing the cyber resilience of critical infrastructure.

8com

8com

8com is an established Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP) with over 75 employees and customers in over 40 countries.

Flare Systems

Flare Systems

Flare proactively detects and remediates exposure across the clear & dark web, providing organizations with the equivalent of an automated cyber reconnaissance team.

Entro Security

Entro Security

Entro is the first holistic secrets security platform that detects, safeguards, and enriches with context your secrets across code, vaults, chats, and platforms.

Turk Telekom

Turk Telekom

Turk Telekom is the first integrated telecommunications operator in Turkey.

Archer Technologies

Archer Technologies

Archer helps organizations manage risk in the digital era—uniting stakeholders, integrating technologies and transforming risk into reward.

Siometrix

Siometrix

Siometrix addresses digital identity fraud. It steals your attacker's time and prevents many prevalent attack vectors.

Blackwell Security

Blackwell Security

Blackwell is a driving force in healthcare cybersecurity, transforming how security operations are conducted within this critical sector.

DataKrypto

DataKrypto

DataKrypto’s advanced data encryption solutions protect data throughout its lifecycle.