Tuesday, February 7 is Safer Internet Day 2017. The IT firm Microsoft is encouraging people to take its Digital Civility Challenge – a set of four tenets to encourage people to think about their behaviour online and how it affects others.
Microsoft researched among adults and teenagers in 14 countries to study civility across various online interactions.
Microsoft has put together a Computer Safety Index (MCSI) that measures consumers’ lifetime exposure to online risks. Online risks were divided into four categories: behavioral, intrusive, reputational and sexual; taking in everything from cyberbullying to hate speech, terrorist recruiting, revenge porn and unwanted sexting. Each category consisted of several individual risks. DCI scores were calculated by using the percentage of consumers who were exposed at some point in time to at least one of 17 online risks. The UK scored significantly below the international averages across all risk categories. Overall concern about online risks was the lowest in the UK among the 14 countries surveyed.
That said, over one in five experienced an online risk within the past month
– 23 per cent of consumers in the UK experienced their most recent online risk within the past month.
– 6pc said the most recent online risk happened within the past week which was half the international rate.
– And 4pc reported online risks happened every/almost every time, three times lower than the international rate (12pc).
Males expressed greater confidence in managing a risk (51pc, to 37pc) but were less likely to know where to turn for help if needed (35pc, to 41pc). Females were slightly less optimistic about the future of civility than males.
Kaspersky Lab meanwhile marked Safer Internet Day 2017 with a survey that found almost half (49 per cent) of 10-15 year olds in the UK admitting they are scared or worried about going online. From the collection of personal data by connected devices, including children’s toys, to grooming on gaming platforms such as Minecraft, some surprise that children are becoming afraid of what they may encounter online – but what can be done to rebuild their confidence? the IT is asking.
According to the survey, specifically, over one in five (21 per cent) of children worry that a stranger might bully them; 18 per cent worry that a stranger might ask them to do something they’d be uncomfortable with; 13 per cent worry a stranger might ask them to do something illegal; and one in ten (ten per cent) worry that strangers would still have access to information they have posted online even after they have deleted it.
The children surveyed are also conscious that their own activities online may cause worry among peers, with over a third (36 per cent) admitting that they have previously regretted posting something online because it may have negatively affected a friend or someone else.
David Emm, principal security researcher, Kaspersky Lab, pictured, says: “The benefits of children being online and connected are numerous. So it’s easy to forget that children and young people are inherently vulnerable and may expose themselves to danger, whether knowingly or unknowingly, when using the internet and connected devices.
“This years’ theme for Safer Internet Day is ‘uniting for a better internet’. It is the combined duty of care of the security industry, government, teachers and parents, to mitigate the risks and provide children with a safe, secure online environment where they can work, rest and play.”
Visit http://www.saferinternet.org/safer-internet-day.
