Kids becoming extremely vulnerable online: Cybersecurity tips to stay safe in digital world

As the digital revolution is gaining momentum, kids are becoming extremely vulnerable online.

According to a report released, it found that 72 % of children have experienced at least one type of cyber threat. Amongst the 40,000 parents and children surveyed across 24 countries in six regions, results showcased that protection of today’s youth in cyberspace is falling short, making cybersecurity an essential need that requires urgent collective action.

In the recent past, a similar upsurge in cyberattacks has been witnessed in India. The National Crime Records Bureau’s 2022 report indicates that cybercrimes against children have risen by 32 percent compared to the previous year. Often, children are exposed to unwanted ads, inappropriate images and harmful content which have been the main threats to them.

Vulnerable online

However, when kids feel vulnerable online, many times, they feel reluctant to inform their family and friends about the potential dangers. In this context, parents or guardians need to build a rapport with their children and educate them about the best practices to be followed online.

Nirvaan Birla, MD of Birla Brainiacs, has shared valuable tips for parents on keeping their children safe online in the digital world.

To begin with, children ought to ensure that they use a secure internet connection. While using public Wi-Fi may come as a convenient option at times, it is vital to remember that it makes an individual vulnerable to cyberattacks. In case it is necessary to do so, one should use a VPN to protect data sent over unsecured networks via real-time encryption.

Added to this, kids need to create strong passwords for their digital accounts and change them frequently. It is advisable to use a combination of letters, numbers and symbols that make it at least 12 characters long.

Importantly, keeping the same password for different accounts is best avoided as hackers may attempt to log into other accounts once a password is acquired. Also, children must refrain from adding personal information about their birthdays while creating passwords. When online, it is good practice to review privacy settings regularly. Many times, hackers gain information about an individual by discovering their browsing history and social media usage.

Therefore, it is necessary to know who can access this information online. Several social media sites comprise privacy-enhancing settings that can be activated. With this, children ought to read the privacy policies of websites and apps they use before accepting them.

Children should interact with trusted sites and avoid clicking on links or files from unknown sources online. The best way to know whether the site is reliable or not is to look out for URLs that start with ‘HTTPS’ rather than ‘HTTP’, since the ‘S’ stands for ‘secure’.

Other cues to verify the website are to evaluate whether its text is free from mistakes and if its advertisements appear organic. Updating software and apps frequently is an effective way to stay protected from cybercriminals. By using the latest versions of an operating system or app, children can protect their personal information.

Moreover, kids can enable multifactor authentication for their accounts and stay alert about notifications. Often, extra passwords, personal security questions or a piece of biometric information to the account’s authentication serves to prevent cyberattacks.

When confronted with inappropriate content, children should report and block it immediately to stay safe online. At times, links from untrusted sources or spam emails offer interactive games or quizzes for free. It is important to understand that these serve as clickbait to obtain personal information about the user.

Conclusively, parents need to become partners in making children aware of their online behaviors and consumption patterns. Children should be apprised about the potential online threats and ways to stay secure on the internet.

Ultimately, a proactive approach combined with accountability will prove beneficial in building a safer online world.