This is the first of a multi-part series on the cybersafety of children. If you would like to keep yourself updated, I recommend that you follow the blog to keep receiving updates.

The Merriam-webster dictionary defines Cybersafety as — “safe practices when using the Internet to prevent personal attacks or criminal activity” and Cybersecurity as — “measures taken to protect a computer or computer system (as on the Internet) against unauthorized access or attack”

I highlight this because, like many others in the cybersecurity community, I failed to make this distinction earlier. It's only when we change our perspective, do we understand that, what we are trying to protect when children go online, is not just their information, but more importantly, we are actually trying to protect them, their physical and mental being.

As parents, I am sure we would gladly lose money, information, and whatever else if we could only protect our child’s physical and mental health. Children are easy prey because they are trusting in nature, do not have inhibitions, and don’t judge people based on race, color, or religion. They are easy prey to a lot of creeps online who spend months fulfilling their sick fantasies. This is not a subject that is easy to digest and the more we know about, the sicker you feel. As a father of 3, I am horrified to hear about the ordeals children have to go through, the trauma and stigma that sometimes haunt you forever.

Online Safety during COVID-19

Children are at increased risk during the COVID-19 pandemic as their lives move online in an unprecedented manner. More than 1.5 billion children have been affected by school closures and are now taking classes online. In addition, the lack of physical interaction with friends has increased the likelihood of digital interactivity and high-risk behaviors like sexting and cyberbullying.

Cybersafety issues are not just in developed countries where internet penetration is high but equally in underdeveloped countries as the internet becomes easily accessible to millions. Today internet access and access to a connected device are almost equivalent to food water & shelter. I say this with the realization that, there are still millions without access to basic needs, but the vast majority who have basic essentials today have access to the internet as well.

Online Threats to Children

To understand the severity of the problem and what Organisations worldwide are doing about it, we need to know how children are compromised.

The major threats children face online are:

• Screen Time — this is effectively the amount of time that a child spends in front of a screen and it has jumped over the last 2 months during the COVID-19 pandemic with kids spending an excess of 8–9 hours online. of course, not all screen time is the same but parents should be aware of the impact of screen time.
• Inappropriate content — Content that is inappropriate as per the age of the viewer, in any form; image, text, video or even audio. This could be content that children may come across inadvertently.
• Cyberbullying — bullying or shaming on social media, chat groups, online gaming. This includes name-calling or verbal abuse.
• Online pornography — sexual content that should not be viewed by children and can have a lasting adverse impact on their minds.
• Online grooming — perps befriending children online in order to take advantage of them for sexual purposes.
• Sexting — sending sexually explicit videos/images of themselves to online/real friends through mobile phones or social media
• Self-Harm & Radicalization — exposure to violent/extreme ideologies that can alter behavior and make young people move towards terrorist/violent acts even endangering themselves and others.
• Privacy & Identity theft — just like adults, children are also equally at the risk of having their identities stolen, which can later be used for blackmail and coercing children into grooming or bullying.

These are the major issues identified by UNICEF and the theinternetmatters.org. The NSPCC estimates “an average of 1 online abuse offence against a child was recorded every 16 minutes in England and Wales”.

The next post will focus on the various threats mentioned above, resources available for parents to use, and what they can do about them. If you find this useful, share it with others.