If you’re among the millions of people working from home while also trying to entertain and educate your kids during the coronavirus pandemic, we imagine things have been pretty chaotic.
Were it not for the option of sitting your kids in front of a laptop for a few hours to do their schoolwork or play games, things might be even worse.
But while the technology gives you a break, do you have complete peace of mind about your children’s safety online? The Internet can be a dangerous place, which is why we talk so often about the importance of secure browsing.
We’re not only talking about parental controls, which, although they help you limit the kinds of activities that kids do online, don’t address a whole range of other threats. Let’s take a look at some of those risks and the things that children should do to stay safe online.
1. Install antivirus software
The first step anyone should take to protect themselves from cyber security threats is to install antivirus software.
These programs are designed to prevent anything nasty from getting onto your device and to alert you when something suspicious appears.
Most computers come with in-built antivirus software (Windows uses a program called Defender, for example), which should be sophisticated enough to tackle with everyday cyber security threats.
However, there are also plenty of programs you can pay for if you’re looking for something more resilient.
Whatever system you use, antivirus software tends to be relatively inobtrusive, running in the background and only popping up when it detects something fishy going on.
The only potential problem is that antivirus software can’t forcibly prevent you from doing anything risky – it simply alerts you to the threat and recommends that you take action.
It’s therefore up to parents to teach children about the importance of these warnings. To the untrained eye, they might be confused with annoying spammy pop-ups that you simply click away from.
Of course, the opposite is true – and it’s only by paying attention to what an antivirus program is telling you that you can prevent a whole lot of trouble down the line.
2. Make sure updates are applied
You’re probably familiar with alerts telling you that software needs to be updated and your computer restarted.
We often think they’re inconvenient, because we want to get on with whatever we were doing. But these updates are important and must be done sooner rather than later, because they improve the software and often patch vulnerabilities that could lead to cyber attacks.
It’s therefore essential that any device your child uses is updated regularly, with patches applied as soon as possible.
3. Watch out for phishing emails
Plenty of people on the Internet claim to be someone they’re not. For example, one of the biggest threats Internet users currently face is phishing.
These are malicious messages that appear to be from a trusted source, but attempt to trick users into handing over sensitive information or downloading malware.
There are two kinds of phishing that children should be concerned about, the first of which are email scams. Although the majority of these end up in spam folders, the more convincing ones can fool these detection tools and land in your kids’ inboxes.
Typical examples of phishing emails include messages supposedly from online services that claim that the recipients’ login information needs to be updated. When you click the link, you’re sent to a bogus version of that site and asked to provide your credentials.
If you do as the site asks, you’re simply handing out your details to them, which they can use to access your account and perhaps even try the same credentials on other accounts.
The other type of phishing scam children should be aware of involves social media, which we take a look at in our next point.
4. Monitor social media activity
Platforms such as Twitter and Reddit have revolutionised the way we think about staying safe online. A generation ago, we were constantly warned about the risks of speaking to strangers over the Internet, but now many websites are designed specifically for that purpose.
Although the majority of those people are harmless, there are still people who take advantage this. One way they do that is through social media phishing scams.
One such scheme works like this: your child sends a tweet to McDonald’s about a promotional offer. A cyber criminal who owns a Twitter account with a name like “McD’s Customer Support” jumps onto the reply and directs your kid to a website that asks them to sign up to receive the latest news, but is actually designed to siphon off their personal details.
You can help your children avoid these risks by teaching them to be careful of any communication that directs them to a website asking them to provide personal details.
When it comes to sites such as Facebook and Instagram, where you’re likely to reveal a lot of information about yourself, it may well be wise to make your account private. That means only people that you’re friends or who follow you can see your profile.
5. Think before handing out personal data
Pretty much every website you visit collects some sort of data about you. This might be relatively harmless information, like tracking cookies that help the website see what links you click and how long you stay on a page, but other practices aren’t as benign.
For example, you might be asked to create an account, in which case you’ll need to submit an email address and password, and maybe even your name, date of birth and other details.
Whenever you provide this information, there is the risk that it will be misused – either intentionally or accidentally.
Say, for instance, the organisation suffered a data breach and the information it collected was leaked online. A cyber criminal could send targeted scams to your child.
Although adults generally understand these risks, children aren’t as aware. It’s therefore up to you to teach them that this type of information is valuable and shouldn’t be shared with just anyone.
The GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is a big help here, because it contains added protections regarding the way organisations collect and store children’s personal data.
In the UK, organisations that use consent to collect the personal data of someone under the age of 13 need to seek the approval of someone with “parental responsibility” and take reasonable steps to ensure that the person providing this approval is who they say they are.
This means that if your child is under 13, you’ll always know which organisations are requesting their personal data.
The only exception to the GDPR’s rule is when the information is collected for preventive or counselling services offered directly to the child. The parental figure is often the reason the child is seeking these services, so it makes sense for the organisation to bypass their approval.
Staying secure during the coronavirus pandemic
The pandemic has blurred the lines between your work and home life, and the last thing you need is your kids creating problems that could affect your job.
This will be a significant problem if you don’t have your own work-issued laptop or phone, or if cyber criminals are able to attack your Wi-Fi router.
You should be particularly cautious about letting your children play games or do other potentially dangerous things on devices that you use for work.
This is just one of the reasons why coronavirus presents an unheralded challenge for organisations. It affects all parts of your business and there is no end in sight.
However, what is certain is that it’s more important than ever to remain vigilant and aware of the threats your organisation faces.
One virus is enough to contend with. Make sure you’re prepared to tackle whatever else comes your way with our packaged solutions, which include tools and services to help you address remote working best practices, network vulnerabilities and a host of other issues.
