Cyber Security For Your Kids

The online world has become a prominent element in our lives, especially when discussing kids. From ages eight and beyond, children and young adults seem addicted to using social media, mobile gaming, watching cartoons, movies, and shows, and chatting with friends.

And while restricting the amount of time spent or the type of content accessed by kids sounds like a great idea, it is also determined that this strategy seldom works. There are just too many ways that kids these days can pursue doing whatever they want online.

As per a research report posted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, it was determined that young Americans invest a prominent chunk of their time using their smartphones and other digital devices such as laptops and tablets.

The report also highlighted that kids aged 8 onwards to 18 were seen spending around 6-7 hours per day using their digital devices. In this modern and continuously evolving digital age, children and young adults prefer staying online using their favorite social apps and entertainment avenues rather than doing anything else. 

This issue is further exacerbated by things such as remote or online schooling. Parents feel it is very difficult to keep track of their kids’ online activities as they pursue their education online as well.

Plus, due to busy schedules, most parents can’t find the time and energy to invest in monitoring their kids’ digital activities.

In light of this, we’re going talk about some excellent cyber security tips that you can implement to ensure your children are always safe online.

Understanding Cyber Security in a Nutshell

Cyber security, in simpler terms, is a way of ensuring your online ecosystem is safe to use and prevents any access or influence by a malicious user or bad actor.

It is a broad term that comprises things such as using malware and anti-virus software, implementing a thorough third-party online protection program, and other various digital security strategies across your family’s devices.

Effect cyber security measures ensure that your devices along with your kids’ smartphones, laptops, and PCs are secured against potential cyber threats such as ransomware and phishing, both of which comprise your personal information.

How Even Children Can Fall Victim To Phishing Crimes

Phishing is a malicious strategy used by cyber criminals where they disguise malware-ridden websites, emails, or messages, prompting the user to either intentionally or unintentionally click the link, giving the bad actors full access to the victim’s device – thereby gaining control of their financial information and personal data.

As even adults can fall victim to phishing scams, and a lot of them do, you can’t expect kids and young adults to stay continuously vigilant, which also makes them a soft target for such scams.

Let’s now look at the types of phishing messages that your kids can potentially click on or view on their social media.

Messages Promising Cash Prizes of Other Rewards for Simply Providing Your Personal Information

Phishing messages are often disguised as enticing links promising users rewards and cash prizes among other things. For example, for younger users, the messages could be “free to play games”, or “access ad-on content for free”.

Similarly, some messages come in the form of a fun and exciting trivia or survey. For instance, some messages may look like “Click here to find out if your dad’s middle name is your superhero name”, etc.

Sure, children and young adults using digital technology and different devices may seem to be tech savvy but that doesn’t make them experts on how to protect themselves from phishing attacks or be vigilant or aware enough not to fall victim to such scams.

It is Possible for Your Child to Compromise Their Social Media/Email Accounts By Oversharing

It is also vital to understand that phishing scammers don’t necessarily have to entice you to click on malicious links to access your information, they can also compromise your devices if they mistakenly or unintentionally provide them with the type of information they need to access your data.

Children often don’t have a good idea of the type of information they shouldn’t share with strangers online.

For instance, while it is perfectly fine to share your birthday with your friends at school, doing so online – with strangers is not a good idea.

Similarly, kids should also avoid talking about where they live, what their parents do, the school they go to, their favorite online hobbies, sharing their pictures, etc.

Why? Well, cybercriminals use a variety of cutting-edge malware and hacking tools that, over time, can unmask your passwords, which are likely to contain little hints of the type of information we just mentioned.

Using that information, these bad actors can gain access to your social media and email accounts, and by extension access your personal and financial information via your PC or laptop. As parents, you should thoroughly discuss these matters with your children, urging them not to provide anybody with any personal information online.

Four Important Strategies and Tips You Should Use to Teach Your Kids and Prevent Them From Falling Prey to Cyber Criminals

Opt for Children-Friendly Online Cyber Security Learning Resources

An excellent way to educate your children about the importance of cyber security and how to stay vigilant and cautious online is to encourage them to learn about it more via credible online resources.

You can think of them as basic training materials that are developed to help kids become more critically aware of cyber threats.

It can be very frustrating to teach your kids about the sophistication and complexities of cyber security from the get-go, so take baby steps in their learning process.

There are plenty of easy-to-learn resources online that can engage your child and encourage them to absorb and implement the basic concepts of cyber security.

These programs are instrumental in teaching children how cyber security works through fun infographics and programmable robots. Some even offer gamification techniques to make the learning process more engaging.

Sensitize Your Kids About Why It Is Not Safe Conversing or Engaging with Strangers Online

As kids, we have all been told by our parents not to talk to strangers. In this day and age, this saying couldn’t be more relevant and important. The first line of defense against cyber criminals is not talking to anybody you don’t know no matter how or what they pretend to be.

Today, malicious users and predators can be exceptionally deceptive and cunning, pretending to act like they are innocent users, carefully laying out traps, and luring unsuspecting children to spring those traps.

As parents, it is your duty and responsibility to unequivocally teach your children about what online predatory behavior looks like and how people lie and pretend to be people they are not.

 At the same time, you should explain to them what cyberbullying is and how to steer clear from it and not fall victim to bullying, which is going to help shield your children from emotional harm. 

It is also crucial for your kids to not share any financial information with anybody online – be it their friends or family.

A good way of doing this is by creating particular situations for them. For example, pretend that you are a cybercriminal and ask your kid for some sensitive information or to click on a seemingly innocent link. You need to practically get involved to educate your children.

Create and Reinforce Household Cyber Security Parameters and Rules

Another excellent way to teach your children about cyber security is to create certain rules and reinforce those rules. This is going to include the parents too – as they should lead by example. Create some online boundaries, especially for younger kids.

For example, be adamant and clear about why your children must never willingly or unwillingly share their personal information with strangers online. This includes your parent’s information of any sort – no matter how trivial or basic the information is.

Moreover, try to encourage your children to either switch their phones or disconnect their devices from the WiFi when it is time for bed or when they are not using the internet. For example, on study nights, family time, or when friends and relatives are over, ask your kids to disconnect from the internet.

Using the Best Software and Cyber Security Tools for Added Safety

While this isn’t exactly a tip related to educating your children about online safety, it is more about implementing additional security measures to keep everybody protected online. Using the best cyber security tools can be immensely beneficial to help prevent your children from exposing themselves to cyber criminals and predators.

Moreover, these tools can be helpful if someone accidentally breaks one or some of your household cyber security rules. A VPN, for example, can be a viable strategy to make your child’s smartphone or any other device difficult to intercept.

It is easy to install and you can use one VPN subscription to activate its features across multiple devices. It will also help prevent cybercriminals from intercepting your personal information such as email credentials, passwords, etc. 

Next, also use a powerful anti-virus tool to further bolster the effectiveness of your cyber security efforts on all devices connected to the internet.

This can help prevent your children from accidentally or willingly searching for restricted websites, help protect your computer systems from malware and phishing sites, and identify and eliminate any potential cyber threat.

In addition, anti-virus software also comes built-in with parental controls that can allow you to track your kids’ online activities. Plus, you can also use these parental controls to restrict which websites they can access and the type of content they can view online.