Professionals from the internet security world explain the advice they give to their own offspring
How can you teach your children to use
the internet safely? It’s a question I’ve been thinking about a lot, as the
father of five and seven year-old sons who are already adept with parental
tablets and laptops alike.
They know the internet is a magical
entity capable of answering obscure questions; providing printable templates of
pretty much any animal to colour in; and serving up endlessly-repeatable videos
of startled cats, Stampy’s
Minecraft exploits and loom band
tutorials.
What they don’t know is anything about
viruses, online privacy, phishing, social networking etiquette, and any other
internet safety and/or security issue you can think of.
Teaching them about this now and in the
future is my job, and the challenge of getting it right is intimidating – even
for someone who writes about a lot of these issues for a living.
But then I remembered that there’s a
whole industry of internet safety and security experts, many of whom have
children of their own, and have to face the same task of rearing safe,
responsible internet citizens.
The advice that these people are giving
their own kids should be top-drawer, so what is it?
Start discussing
online safety at an early age
David Emm, senior security researcher
at internet security company Kaspersky Lab
“I think one of the key things is to
start the process of discussing online safety with your children at an early
age, when they start to do anything that involves the Internet.
They might still be using the computer
with you, rather than independently and this offers an opportunity to highlight
the fact that the online world parallels the real world and that there are both
safe and unsafe things out there. It also enables you to discuss the things
that are there to protect us, e.g. Internet security protection, passwords,
etc.
As they get older and begin to do
things independently, widen the circle. For example, if you let them start an
account with Club Penguin or Moshi Monsters, help them create a sensible
password and explain why they should use different passwords for each account
and the possible consequences of not doing so.”
If you wouldn’t do it
face to face - Don’t do it online
Shelagh McManus, online safety advocate
for security software Norton by Symantec
“The advice I give my own family and
friends is encapsulated in: “If you wouldn’t do it face to face - Don’t do it
online” For example, would you go up to a complete stranger and start a
conversation? Would you be abusive to friends or strangers in a pub or bar?
Just because you feel protected by the
apparent distance a screen gives between you and the person you’re talking to,
you must remember that online is still the real world.
Mid to late teens need to remember that
everything they do over the web is captured forever and could come back to
haunt them. Many employers and university admissions offices look at social
media profiles when researching candidates.
My husband and I actually used to ask
random questions based on what the younger family members had put online just
to remind them that they should lock down their profiles! If they didn’t want
their dad, uncles and aunts or future employers asking about exactly what was
in that fifteenth drink on Saturday night, they needed to check their privacy
settings!”
Teach them to beware
of strangers bearing gifts
Amichai Shulman, CTO of network
security firm Imperva
“Being a parent (four children),
paranoid and a vendor I can shed some light on this. My basic belief is that
adults have proven once and again vulnerable to cyber attacks and therefore we
cannot expect children to be any better – especially given that their sense of
curiosity is far more developed and their sense of caution far less mature.
I do not expect my children to behave
online much different than in the real world and therefore I explain to them
about hackers being a type of criminal that breaks into your house through the
computer rather than through the window. It’s easy for them to understand it.
I also teach them to beware of
strangers bearing gifts much like they should in the physical world. For
example, I don’t allow my children to open a mail package if they don’t KNOW
who sent it (or got my permission to do so) – much the same way, I don’t allow
them to open unsolicited email attachments.
Could they fall prey to someone who
took over their friend’s account and sent out malware? Yes, but so would most
adults. Could they fall prey to a targeted attack on our family? They probably
will – like almost all adults.”
Once you’ve written
something you can’t delete it
David Robinson, chief security officer
at Fujitsu UK & Ireland
“The Internet is a fantastic place, but
you have to be careful what you do and say when you are there. Don’t say things
which you wouldn’t talk about in conversations with your family, think about
what you do and say, you may well regret what you do by hurting someone or
being hurt yourself.
Remember once you’ve written something
you can’t delete it, despite what Google are doing in Europe, the right to be
forgotten doesn’t apply everywhere! If what you do or say is controversial it
will be copied many times and will always come back and bite you, even in later
life when you apply to go to college, university or even a job.
How you connect is important too, the
gadgets you use, smart phones, tablets even old fashioned computers all need to
be protected as well. But that’s only one part of it, those applications and
services you use need to be protected, you don’t want others seeing your
information. Use sensible passwords and protection, it’s a little price to pay
for the security of your information and intimate details.
Don’t be frightened to ask for help
either, there’s lots of places and people who can show you what to do and how
to behave such as Get Safe On-line, friends and teachers.”
Never, under any circumstances, browse
unaccompanied
Dave King, chief executive of online
reputation management company Digitalis
“The first and most fundamental
principle is that my children never, under any circumstances, browse unaccompanied.
They both have iPad Mini devices at which they are more adept than most adults
I know. But both devices are set to forget the wifi access code so that they
cannot get online without either my wife or I present.
Ditto the computers in the house and the
main screen for the computers to which they have access is in our living space
(not bedrooms) so that any activity is plain to see.
We talk to the children about the risks
because the time will come that they have access outside the safety of our
home. We make a point of being open about the concept of inappropriate content
and the existence of bad people. In the same way that a generation ago we were
told to shout loud when approached by a stranger, we tell the girls to tell us
immediately of any approach online.
We talk about trolling as we talk about
bullying and we talk about paedophiles in the virtual and real world.
Ultimately we want to retain their innocence but where we used to want
street-wise kids we now need web-wise children.”
Try and be vigilant
and monitor what you can
Chase Cunningham, lead threat
intelligence agent for cloud security company Firehost – and creator of
educational comic The Cynja
“For my kids I have already set them up
with their own personal private clouds through the Respect Network and I have
set up all the devices that they can or could access the internet with has a
passcode that only I know and each device has blocks on sites that I consider
risky.
I also have set up monitoring on their
credit reports (yes they are only three and five but kids credit thievery
happens all the time) and I am with them when they are using the internet.
I tried to explain to them about the
nasty side of the internet but it kind of fell on deaf ears, but I was able to
educate them about the dangers of the internet through my comic The Cynja.
They didn’t understand what I meant
when I talked about malware and botnets as a tech geek dad but they understood
that bad things are out there in cyberspace when they read the comic and saw
the images.
For me, and quite a few other parents
recently, that was a real connection point for the kids was when they had a
comic character to relate to who is literally telling them about being safe
online and protecting their digital selves, they understood the story and were
getting the message of being safe online all at the same time.”
Educate early and
often
Samantha Humphries-Swift, product
manager at cybersecurity firm McAfee Labs
“Get involved – I speak with my
daughter regularly about which sites she is using, and given her age, I
personally vet all app downloads. This way, I can keep an eye on security
settings and make a judgement on whether I think it’s safe and appropriate for
her to use.
Educate early and often – I warned my
daughter about the dangers of the internet as soon as she started browsing, and
remind her of safe online behaviour regularly – don’t accept friendship
requests from people you don’t know, verify requests if they look to be coming
from someone you do know, never agree to a private chat with a stranger, never
post your mobile phone number or home address online for all to see.
Communication is key – I like to be
open, approachable and understanding about what my daughter is getting up to
online. This way it makes it easier for her to come to me with any problems
she’s experiencing online, and she’s happy to ask for advice.
On a more general note, talk to your
kids about how they use their computers and smartphones and ask about any
concerns they might have. Be prepared to field any questions they may ask –
there are plenty of online resources available to help support you in answering
tough and delicate questions.”
Not just to tell them
the rules but also to spend the time
Jesper KrÄkhede, senior information
security consultant at IT security company Sentor
“My first observation on keeping your kids safe online is not just to tell them the rules but also to spend the time to show them that you’re the most trustworthy when it comes to the internet. In brief, a good line of communication with your kids, where they can talk to you and you to them is THE starting point for the best online protection.
“My first observation on keeping your kids safe online is not just to tell them the rules but also to spend the time to show them that you’re the most trustworthy when it comes to the internet. In brief, a good line of communication with your kids, where they can talk to you and you to them is THE starting point for the best online protection.
When it comes to passwords I tell them
to use long sentences. Easy for them to remember and hard for others to crack.
I teach them how to check that the virus protection is updated and how to
answer requests. The bottom line we’ve agreed is that if they are unsure they
should ask me.
My kids use Facebook, Instagram,
Twitter etc and I have asked them to be-friend me on all their apps. The next
piece of advice I’ve given them is if they are posting a picture or a comment
and they think they wouldn’t want me as their Dad to see it, then it doesn’t
belong in the public domain at all.”
Become friends and
contacts in your child’s social media
Tracy Hulver, senior identity
specialist for telco firm Verizon
“Make sure your children ONLY message
and accept friend and contact requests from people they know. A lot of times
the number of contacts of friends you have become a “popularity contest”.
People that do not have appropriate of good intentions realize that and will
try and contact kids by masking as people they are not and “infiltrating” the
child’s “inner circle”.
Make sure YOU as a parent, become
friends and contacts within your child’s social media circles and ensure you
monitor posts. Your children may resist but tell them that is one of the
conditions for you to allow them access.
Ask to see their child mobile devices
periodically. Some children, especially the older they get, will not want Mom
and Dad looking at their messages to their friends and that’s OK if the parent
doesn’t want to do that.
But if nothing else, look to see what
apps are installed, take a mental inventory, and if the parent is not familiar
with the app, go online and do investigation. That way you at least know the
types of social media services your child is using and to the point earlier,
you should at least sign up for that service to see what it’s all about.”
Imagine a responsible
adult standing behind them
Kevin Gourlay, head of technical
assurance at Platinum Squared, and head of the (ISC)2 Safe
and Secure Online cybersafety initiative
“My general rule is If they can imagine
a responsible adult standing behind them, and watching what they are doing on
the Internet, and they would be happy with being watched by them, then what
they are doing is ok.
If they are on Twitter for example, or
Facebook, commenting or replying to posts, If they think that I would be OK
with them doing what they are doing, then it’s ok. They need to be helped to
apply common sense, rather than told what to do, and this can be easy for
children once you help them to understand the risks.
My two children are 9 and 14 years old,
so I have two different sets of rules and advice for them. For my youngest,
I’ll teach her about the websites that are likely to be safe online: .co.uk,
.edu, .org, etc., and I have a whitelist in place to make sure she only stays
on those sites.
However, as they get older, learn more
and become more mature, that list grows out and it becomes more of a blacklist
with just certain websites blocked. It’s about giving them more freedom as they
get more mature.”
It’s about them understanding
simple safety rules
Lucy Woodward, director at Disney’s
Club Penguin virtual world for children
“This is the crunch generation – so
it’s vital that we get it right, and kids and parents learn internet safety
skills for themselves. My kids are still very young so for me it’s about them
understanding simple safety rules at this stage and keeping it fun - for
example understanding what a password is and keeping it secret (kids love
secrets!).
At school my daughter has an internet
reading program where she has an individual password and I have found this a
good way in to talking about the issue. My children like many will be straight
on the internet at any given opportunity so I also encourage them to tell me if
they click on something that they don’t like the look of so they get in to an
early routine of doing this and always knowing they can talk to us.”
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