Paul Haskell-Dowland and Ismini Vasileiou Before COVID-19, children would spend a lot of the day at school. There they would be taught about Internet safety and be protected when going online by systems that filter or restrict access to online content. Schools provide protective environments to restrict access to content such as pornography and gambling. They also protect children from various threats such as viruses and unmoderated social media. This is usually done using filters and blacklists (lists of websites or other resources that aren’t allowed) applied to school devices or through the school Internet connection. But with many children learning from home, parents may not be aware of the need for the same safeguards. Many parents are also working from home, which may limit the time to explore and set up a secure online environment for their children. So, what threats are children exposed to and what can parents do to keep them safe? What threats might children face? With increased use of web-based tools, downloading new applications and dependence on email, children could be exposed to malware threats in the absence of school based controls. This can include viruses and ransomware — for example, Covidlock (an application offering coronavirus related information) that targets the Android operating system and changes the PIN code for the lock-screen. If infected, the user can lose complete access to her device. Children working at home are not usually protected by filters provided by their schools. seemingly innocent teaching activities like the use of YouTube can expose children to unexpected risks given the breadth of inappropriate adult content available. Most videos end with links to a number of related resources, the selection of which is not controlled by the school. even using YouTube kids, a subset of curated YouTube content filtered for appropriateness, has some risks. There have been reports of content featuring violence, suicidal themes and sexual references. Many schools are using video conferencing tools to maintain social interaction with students. There have been reports of cases of class-hijacking, including Zoom-bombing where uninvited guests enter the video conference session. The FBI Boston field office has documented inappropriate comments and imagery introduced into an online class. A similar case in Connecticut resulted in a teenager being arrested after Zoom-bombing incidents. Because video conferencing is becoming normalised, malicious actors (including paedophiles) may seek to exploit this level of familiarity. They can persuade children to engage in actions that can escalate to inappropriate sexual behaviour. The eSafety Office has reported a significant increase in a range of incidents of online harm since early March. In a particularly sickening example, eSafety Office investigators said: in one forum, paedophiles noted that isolation measures have increased opportunities to contact children remotely and engage in their “passion” for sexual abuse via platforms such as YouTube, Instagram and random webchat services. Some families may be using older or borrowed devices if there aren’t enough for their children to use. These devices may not offer the same level of protection against common…
