Internet safety or online safety or cyber safety and E-Safety is trying to be safe on the internet and is the act of maximizing a user's awareness of personal safety and security risks to
private information
Privacy (, ) is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves, and thereby express themselves selectively.
The domain of privacy partially overlaps with security, which can include the concepts of a ...
and property associated with using the
internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...
, and the self-protection from
computer crime
A cybercrime is a crime that involves a computer or a computer network.Moore, R. (2005) "Cyber crime: Investigating High-Technology Computer Crime," Cleveland, Mississippi: Anderson Publishing. The computer may have been used in committing the ...
.
As the number of internet users continues to grow worldwide, internets, governments, and organizations have expressed concerns about the safety of children and teenagers using the Internet. Over 45% have announced they have endured some sort of
cyber-harassment. Safer Internet Day is celebrated worldwide in February to raise awareness about internet safety. In the
UK the Get Safe Online campaign has received sponsorship from government agency
Serious Organized Crime Agency (SOCA) and major Internet companies such as
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washi ...
and
eBay
eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became ...
.
Information security
Sensitive information such as
personal information and identity, passwords are often associated with personal property and privacy and may present security concerns if leaked. Unauthorized access and usage of private information may result in consequences such as
identity theft
Identity theft occurs when someone uses another person's personal identifying information, like their name, identifying number, or credit card number, without their permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. The term ''identity theft'' was c ...
, as well as theft of property. Common causes of information security breaches include:
Phishing
Phishing
Phishing is a type of social engineering where an attacker sends a fraudulent (e.g., spoofed, fake, or otherwise deceptive) message designed to trick a person into revealing sensitive information to the attacker or to deploy malicious softwa ...
is a type of scam where the scammers disguise themselves as trustworthy source in an attempt to obtain private information such as passwords, credit card information, etc. through the internet. These fake websites are often designed to look identical to their legitimate counterparts to avoid suspicion from the user. Normally, hackers will send third-party email to target requesting personal information, and they will use this as an entry point to implement attack.
Malware
Malware
Malware (a portmanteau for ''malicious software'') is any software intentionally designed to cause disruption to a computer, server, client, or computer network, leak private information, gain unauthorized access to information or systems, depr ...
, particularly
spyware
Spyware (a portmanteau for spying software) is software with malicious behaviour that aims to gather information about a person or organization and send it to another entity in a way that harms the user—for example, by violating their priv ...
, is malicious software designed to collect and transmit private information, such as passwords, without the user's consent or knowledge. They are often distributed through e-mail, software, and files from unofficial locations. Malware is one of the most prevalent security concerns as often it is impossible to determine whether a file is infected, regardless of the source of the file.
Personal safety
The growth of the internet gave rise to many important services accessible to anyone with a connection. One of these important services is
digital communication. While this service allowed communication with others through the internet, this also allowed communication with malicious users. While malicious users often use the internet for personal gain, this may not be limited to financial/material gain. This is especially a concern to parents and children, as children are often targets of these malicious users. Common threats to personal safety include phishing, internet scams, malware, cyberstalking, cyberbullying, online predators, and sextortion.
Cyberstalking
Cyberstalking is the use of the
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...
or other electronic means to
stalk or
harass
Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behavior that demeans, humiliates or embarrasses a person, and it is characteristically identified by its unlikelihood in terms of social and moral re ...
an individual, group, or organization.
It may include
false accusations,
defamation
Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
,
slander
Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
and
libel
Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defi ...
. It may also include monitoring,
identity theft
Identity theft occurs when someone uses another person's personal identifying information, like their name, identifying number, or credit card number, without their permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. The term ''identity theft'' was c ...
, threats, vandalism, solicitation for sex, or
gathering information that may be used to threaten, embarrass or harass. Cyberstalking is a crime in which someone harasses or stalks a victim using electronic or digital means, such as social media, email, instant messaging (IM), or messages posted to a discussion group or forum. ... The terms cyberstalking and cyberbullying are often used interchangeably.
Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying or cyberharassment is a form of bullying or harassment using electronic means. Cyberbullying and cyberharassment are also known as online bullying. It has become increasingly common, especially among teenagers, as the digital ...
is the use of electronic means such as instant messaging, social media, e-mail and other forms of online communication with the intent to abuse, intimidate, or overpower an individual or group. Over the past decade, cyberbullying has been identified as a significant problem for youth. In a 2012 study of over 11,925 students in the United States, it was indicated that 23% of adolescents reported being a victim of cyberbullying, 30% of which reported experiencing suicidal behavior. Th
Australian eSafety Commissioner'swebsite reports that 20% of young Australians report being socially excluded, threatened or abused online.
Sometimes, this takes the form of posting unverifiable and illegal libelous statements on harassment websites.
These websites then run advertisements encouraging the victims to pay thousands of dollars to related businesses to get the posts removed – temporarily, as opposed to the free and permanent removal process available through major web search engines.
Child-on-child abuse (peer-on-peer abuse) that happens online often falls under cyberbullying. However, it goes much further. It can include physical and sexual abuse or harassment, relationships abuse, grooming and more.
Online predation
Online predation is the act of engaging an underage minor in inappropriate sexual relationships through the internet. Online predators may attempt to initiate and seduce minors into relationships through the use of
chat room
The term chat room, or chatroom (and sometimes group chat; abbreviated as GC), is primarily used to describe any form of synchronous conferencing, occasionally even asynchronous conferencing. The term can thus mean any technology, ranging from ...
s or
internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are often longer than one line of text, and are at least tempora ...
s.
Online grooming
Online grooming usually refers to child sexual abuse but can also refer to
radicalisation
Radicalization (or radicalisation) is the process by which an individual or a group comes to adopt increasingly views in opposition to a political, social, or religious status quo. The ideas of society at large shape the outcomes of radicalizat ...
,
drug trafficking
A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalati ...
, and financial gain. Grooming is when a stranger targets a child by befriending them and gaining their trust. Once they gain this trust, the groomer can manipulate the child to do what they want, which may include sending sexual images, running drugs, or any number of other activities.
Obscene/offensive content
Various websites on the internet content material that some deem offensive, distasteful or explicit, which may often be not of the user's liking. Such websites may include
internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...
,
shock sites
A shock site is a website that is intended to be offensive or disturbing to its viewers, though it can also contain elements of humor or evoke (in some viewers) sexual arousal. Shock-oriented websites generally contain material such as pornograp ...
,
hate speech
Hate speech is defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'' as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation". Hate speech is "usually thoug ...
or otherwise inflammatory content. Such content may manifest in many ways, such as
pop-up ads and unsuspecting links.
Sextortion
Sextortion
Sextortion (a portmanteau of ''sex'' and '' extortion'') employs non-physical forms of coercion to extort sexual favors from the victim. Sextortion refers to the broad category of sexual exploitation in which abuse of power is the means of coerci ...
, especially via the use of webcams, is a concern, especially for those who use
webcam
A webcam is a video camera which is designed to record or stream to a computer or computer network. They are primarily used in videotelephony, livestreaming and social media, and security. Webcams can be built-in computer hardware or peripher ...
s for
flirting
Flirting or coquetry is a social and sexual behavior involving spoken or written communication, as well as body language. It is either to suggest interest in a deeper relationship with the other person or, if done playfully, for amusement.
I ...
and
cybersex
Cybersex, also called computer sex, Internet sex, netsex and, colloquially, cyber or cybering, is a virtual sex encounter in which two or more people have long distance sex via electronic video communication (webcams, VR headsets, etc) and other e ...
.
Often this involves a
cybercriminal
A cybercrime is a crime that involves a computer or a computer network.Moore, R. (2005) "Cyber crime: Investigating High-Technology Computer Crime," Cleveland, Mississippi: Anderson Publishing. The computer may have been used in committing ...
posing as someone else - such as an
attractive person - initiating communication of a sexual nature with the victim. The victim is then persuaded to undress in front of a webcam, and may also be persuaded to engage in sexual behaviour, such as
masturbation
Masturbation is the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or combinat ...
.
The video is recorded by the cybercriminal, who then reveals their true intent and demands money or other services (such as more explicit images of the victim, in cases of
online predation), threatening to publicly release the video and send it to family members and friends of the victim if they do not comply.
A video highlighting the dangers of sextortion has been released by the
National Crime Agency
The National Crime Agency (NCA) is a national law enforcement agency in the United Kingdom. It is the UK's lead agency against organised crime; human, weapon and drug trafficking; cybercrime; and economic crime that goes across regional and in ...
in the
UK to educate people, especially given the fact that blackmail of a sexual nature may cause
humiliation
Humiliation is the abasement of pride, which creates mortification or leads to a state of being humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission. It is an emotion felt by a person whose social status, either by force or willingly, has just dec ...
to a sufficient extent to cause the victim to
take their own life,
in addition to other efforts to educate the public on the risks of sextortion.
See also
* Control software:
:*
Accountability software
Accountability software, or shameware, is a type of surveillance software that records the user's Internet activity and reports it to an authority figure, such as a parent, teacher, spouse or religious leader, sometimes called an accountability ...
:*
Content control software
*
Identity fraud
*
Internet crime
*
Internet fraud
Internet fraud is a type of cybercrime fraud or deception which makes use of the Internet and could involve hiding of information or providing incorrect information for the purpose of tricking victims out of money, property, and inheritance. In ...
*
Internet security
Internet security is a branch of computer security. It encompasses the Internet, browser security, web site security, and network security as it applies to other applications or operating systems as a whole. Its objective is to establish rules ...
*
Procurement through online dating services
*
Website reputation rating tools
Groups and individuals working on the topic
*
AHTCC
The Australian High Tech Crime Centre (AHTCC) are hosted by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) at their headquarters in Canberra. Under the auspices of the AFP, the AHTCC is party to the formal Joint Operating Arrangement established between th ...
– Australian High Tech Crime Centre
*
Childnet
Childnet International is a registered UK charity that aims to make the internet a safe place for children and young people.
Activities
Educational resources
Childnet produce educational resources for children, parents and teachers about a ran ...
*
Insafe
*
Internet Matters
Internet Matters is a not-for-profit organisation based in London, England. Launched in May 2014 by the United Kingdom's largest internet service providers BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media, the organisation offers child internet safety advic ...
*
Sonia Livingstone
Sonia Livingstone is a professor of Social Psychology and former head of the Department of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics and Political Science and has dedicated much of her research to children, media and the Interne ...
*
ThinkUKnow
*
Tween summit
*
Youth Internet Safety Survey The Youth Internet Safety Survey was a series of two surveys conducted in the United States in 1999 and 2004. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) provided funding to Dr. David Finkelhor, Director of the Crimes Against Chi ...
References
External links
* {{Wikiquote inline, Internet safety
*
Cyber Safety->
Crime prevention
Internet culture