Safer Internet Day highlights web risks
Tuesday 12 February 2008
Today marks the fifth Safer Internet Day, a European campaign to teach children and parents about the dangers of the net. Top of the list of topics to be discussed in over fifty countries around the continent are the risks of sharing too much personal data online and children befriending adults who chat under the guise of another child.
In the UK, schools are being encouraged to discuss the dangers through themed assemblies in a hope that children will be more aware of how they should behave online. Also, as a run up to the campaign, many schools, youth groups and clubs have been learning about the risks by creating leaflets, posters and videos for a national competition.
Speaking to the BBC, a spokeswoman for the Child Exploitation and Online Protection, heading the campaign in the UK explained in more detail the main topics of the campaign: "It's about getting them talking about the issue, the personal information they put online and their social networking profiles…The message is getting through and now it's about refining that message."
In other news, a new UK forum has also been created called the Information Security Awareness Forum aimed to produce a best practice guide for businesses on the awareness of computer security, including better use of anti-virus firewalls and anti-spyware programs.
