6 reasons to explain to a child the basics of information security

Toys of modern children are no longer similar to those popular in the 90s. Instead of “tamagoch”, “weave” and videotapes, young Russians today are playing computer games and linger on the Internet. It is not a secret to anyone that the psyche of a child is very sensitive and free surfing on the net may pose a great danger to him. I decided to make a list of the main Internet threats for children that should be paid attention to parents:

1. Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying or cybermobbing is the humiliation of human dignity on the Internet. Often this phenomenon acquires the character of harassment: bullying a student of a class or a teacher. The consequences of such an attitude can be serious psychological problems, some of them end their lives because of cruel "trolling". This was the American schoolgirl Phoebe Prince , whose name in the United States has become a symbol of all the victims of the cyber-engines.

And although this threat is not perceived as the main problem of cyberspace, its solution is already being addressed in many countries of the world, including our country. Prince William is going to create an insult commission on the Internet. About their fight against insults have already stated in Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram.
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To implement a program to protect against the negative impact of the Internet in the European Union should the organization Safer Internet Center. Within this program, the portals http://www.saferinternet.org/ have been created. The site contains recommendations for children and their parents to counter cyberbullying. Children are advised not to respond to insults, to resource administrations to block Internet hooligans, to parents to take screenshots of messages for evidence in court.

One of the most effective methods of combating the degradation of human dignity on the Internet is the development of special software that allows you to identify cyberbulgans. In some countries, it is proposed to oblige schools to inform parents of children who are being bullied. It is recommended to parents themselves to talk more often with children, so that the child does not become isolated from his problems. If parents can no longer cope with the problem - to resort to the help of psychologists.

What does cyberbulling lead to?


2. Hacking and stealing personal data
According to recent studies, four out of five children have ever encountered dangers on the Internet, especially on social networks. Cybercriminals easily crack and launch viruses on smartphones, steal funds from cards. The reason for this is the carelessness of children who do not realize the importance of protecting their own and parental personal data, who do not understand that excessive frankness can bring big problems.

According to research by Kaspersky Lab, two-thirds of children indicate their place of study in social media, every fifth informs his address and parents' income. Such data may attract the attention of fraudsters.

Antivirus company ESET conducted a survey, the results of which make you think:
• 19% of children faced hacking of their accounts in social networks;
• 11% of surveyed parents reported that children add as friends to users with fake accounts;
• 10% of respondents lost money due to the fact that children signed up for paid games and expensive services;
• 6% of parents said that the attackers sent malicious links.

Not so long ago, special sites began to appear on which both children and their parents can go through a “educational program” on issues of online behavior security, and this is done in a playful way for children.

Statistics of popular sites for children:

3. Dangerous publics in social networks
In social networks, you can stumble upon a bunch of communities whose purpose is to draw users into dubious operations. Fraudsters hack accounts and ask to transfer money to certain phone numbers or bank accounts.

In social networks there are many so-called “death groups” or communities that incite children to suicide or illegal actions. Pulling in children occurs gradually. Administrators can threaten a child with violence if he thinks of telling adults about the “inner kitchen” of such a community.

The fight against suicide propaganda is actively led by Facebook, which launched the function of notifying friends about alarming posts on the network. For those who are eager to help , a “first cyber help” guide has been released.

4. Violations of the development and socialization of the child
The Internet replaces many children of friends and even parents. They are looking for answers to pressing questions not from moms and dads, but from Google and Yandex. Instead of friends, with whom they used to play football or “daughters-mothers”, now they are “friends” on “VKontakte”, interaction with which comes down to correspondence and mutual “likes”. Despite the fact that the network offers great opportunities for intellectual development, it is very difficult for a child to “separate the wheat from the chaff” on the Internet, to distinguish useful knowledge from the “information noise”.

Social skills suffer greatly from the transfer of communication to online. No instant messenger can replace live chat and develop the necessary communication skills. Caught face to face with the interlocutor, many children are lost and can not develop a conversation.

And even if adults are victims of gadgets with Internet access, then what about children who, from the very beginning of life, do not know other ways of communication?

5. Propaganda addiction
Uncontrolled use of the Internet is for children and more serious dangers are not uncommon when “pen-friends” turned out to be drug dealers and pedophiles. YouTube is replete with horrific rollers with the consequences of the use of drugs by children. Often, the first step on the crooked path of addiction is the Internet, where naive students are offered to “try it once”, “get high” and so on. In open communities, an advertisement for "spice" and other drugs with dealers' contact information is published.

6. Communication with dangerous strangers
Another danger lurking for children on the Internet is pedophiles and blackmailers, extorting erotic photos and distributing them on the world wide web.

Perverts get acquainted with minors under the guise of their peers and subsequently ask to send photos of an erotic nature. After that, they begin to blackmail children by sending these materials to friends and acquaintances.

In recent years, more and more information appears on the abuse of children in social networks.

Currently, the most common method of dealing with inadmissible information on the Internet is to block individual sites or communities. This method can not be called super effective, so there are enthusiasts who catch criminals "on live bait". This hunt can be dangerous for the activists themselves and, moreover, usually bypasses the law enforcement system.