Demystifying Tech: Data breaches

by Will Earp

Will is Digital Experience Manager at SWGfL, he manages the organisations digital output, and specialises in full stack web development

Coming off the back of one of the biggest data breaches in history, it seems not a month goes by without another report of some big hack where millions of customer details have been stolen. It can feel like it is inevitable or par for the course that you could also be hacked at some point.

But with greater responsibility on schools to ensure they have robust data protection systems in place, we must not accept this. These breaches should serve as a warning for us to take action to make sure we are not the next target. So what is a data breach? Who causes them and why? And what can we do to protect ourselves?

In this blog we’ll be looking at what data breaches are, how they happen and what you should be doing to protect your organisation from them.

What constitutes a data breach?

In the new world of fast moving tech, making data globally available at the click of a mouse has obvious advantages, but of course storing and managing vast amounts of personal data comes with risk. As the custodian of potentially valuable personal data, the buck stops with the holder to make sure that only authorised people can access that data.

A data breach occurs when an unauthorised person or persons gain access to the data by exploiting a flaw in the system, or by tricking users into giving them access, at which point they extract a large volume of data out of the system. They will then use this data to their own ends, either to gain financially by selling the data, or to expose the fact that the data custodians didn’t have sufficient security protections in place to stop them doing it.

Who are the hackers and why do they hack?

There are generally two types of hackers, known as white-hat or black-hat hackers.

White-Hat Hackers

Otherwise known as ethical hackers, this group usually consists of security researchers who work for universities or commercial cybersecurity companies, also concerned citizens who have enough technical knowledge to spot vulnerabilities in computer systems.

Their aim is to help the custodians of data to keep that data secure and improve their handling processes. Unfortunately some organisations don’t like these hackers testing the security of their systems, or simply do not take their warnings seriously. So being able to prove that the breach is real is often very helpful in making the data holders do something about it.

Upon discovering a vulnerability, most white-hat hackers, depending on how they think the news will be taken, will notify the system owners of the vulnerability. If the response is not satisfactory or is ignored, they will test the issue further, build something that will exploit the weakness, and extract enough data to prove their point.

This will normally not be used to extract as much data as possible, but just enough to show to the organisation that their system is vulnerable. This may be accompanied by notification that the exploit will be revealed publically within a certain time frame, so the data owners have time to fix it before it can be exploited by anyone else.

Black-Hat Hackers

This is the type of hacker that we should all be taking the necessary steps to protect ourselves from. Black Hat hackers are individuals or hacking groups, who hack for money, power or both. Personal data is extremely valuable if you can find the right buyer, as it can be used to generate more cash.

Stolen login details can be used to access data in other systems where the same password has been used, enabling the harvesting of more personal information, ultimately ending up in identity theft, blackmail, and theft. If somebody gains access to your credit card information along with other personal data, they can steal money from you, your bank, or credit agencies. And there are many other ways your data can be exploited for money.

When hackers discover a vulnerability in your system, they will immediately test and explore them and build something to exploit them. The code or methodology will then be sold to third parties for exploitation, or as much data as possible will be extracted. This will then be sold on the black market, usually a forum on the Dark Web (A hidden anonymous internet only accessible through the Tor Network).

Where it becomes extremely dangerous is if unrestricted access to your system can be valuable over time, to monitor your users or steal from you over time.

How do they steal the data?

Whenever you use a system, for example a school computer, that collects, manages, and serves data, there will be tens to hundreds of millions of lines of code in place to run it.

With such a large volume of code it is inevitable that it will contain bugs, logic errors, and architectural errors that enable the flow of the program to be manipulated to reveal more data or access than it should. How data is mishandled is tested by hackers, who input different pieces of data to see what happens, looking for somewhere where the input is mishandled and can be exploited. The process to gain access may take a number of steps, and so this may be written into a piece of code to automate the process.

On the flipside this is the same methodology used to hack computers through a web browser. Hackers test different pieces of code to see how the browser responds, looking for errors. Once found they build a piece of code that uses this vulnerability to gain access to your computer when you visit a webpage set up by the hacker. This is usually used to install other dangerous software on your computer so they can steal details like bank logins.

What can we do to protect ourselves?

There are a number of simple steps you can take, and processes you can put in place to prevent attacks in the first place, and limit the damage should a data breach occur:

Keep software up to date

Keeping your software up to date is critical for mitigating security vulnerabilities, especially known exploits.

Security researchers notify software vendors of vulnerabilities every day, those vendors then patch their software in the next release. After the update is released, the vulnerability will be made public through a database, at which point a black-hat hacker could build an exploit for use against unpatched systems. So if you don’t have the latest software, you’re more likely to be vulnerable to an attack.

Make good passwords

Use strong passwords, the longer you password is, the harder it is to crack if your personal data is stolen. Don’t use any words or dates personal to you as this can massively reduce the security of your password. Best to use something random but easy to remember.

Don’t reuse passwords across multiple systems, as if one of those systems is hacked, it could lead to attackers gaining access to your other accounts.

Never use accounts that get shared across multiple people, if something goes wrong you won’t know who is to blame, and you will have to update everyone with new details should one person’s access need to be revoked.

For more in-depth advice on password management, read The Secret to Secure Passwords, a blog I wrote recently for SWGfL.

Develop data management policy within your organisation

It is critical that everyone in your organisation is reading from the same hymn sheet when it comes to data security. A tool such as 360data can help you to develop policies and procedures around data protection, enabling your organisation to reduce attack vectors, and know what to do if a data breach occurs.

What can I do?

If you’re not already a user of 360data, now may be a good time to sign up and access good-quality advice and guidance from SWGfL, partners in the UK Safer Internet Centre.

Other steps include:

• Ensure you have an up-to-date backup available (and have tested it)
• Update your Windows installation
• Keep your anti-virus up-to-date
• Be cautious, don’t click on links in emails – do you know the sender?

For more information on how to protect your organisation, please visit 360data.org.uk and sign-up or take our FREE 30-second quiz.

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76% of girls are confident in their digital skills

New research from Girlguiding looks at the experiences that girls have in their everyday lives, both online and offline.

A total of 1,906 girls and young women aged between 7 and 21 took part in the girls’ attitude survey from the across the UK, from both inside and outside Girlguiding.

Digital skills and careers in tech

The research found that 76% of girls have confidence in their digital skills. Encouragingly the survey also found that 69% of girls aged 7 to 21 aren’t put off from jobs in tech by a lack of women in the industry.

However, the survey also revealed the barriers that many girls face, with 30% of girls aged 11 to 16 saying that they think computing is more for boys.

One girl aged 11-16 said that

“more girls would be encouraged into tech if you destroyed the stereotype that only boys can use technology loads of girls already use and have jobs in tech, they’re just not talked about enough”.

Schools can provide a variety of opportunities for female students to be involved in different aspects of computing. From YouTube vlogging, to coding, and competitions such as Apps for Good, there is a huge scope of experiences that young people can get involved in.

Upsetting experiences online

The report also explored the negative experiences that girls can face online.

The survey revealed that 48% of girls aged 11-16 years have come across unwanted violent or graphic images online that made them feel upset or disturbed.

These findings echo the UK Safer Internet Centre’s  Power of Image report, published for Safer Internet Day 2017, which explored the risks and pressures that many young people face with image and video sharing.

The Safer Internet Day research also highlighted the positive role that images and videos can play, finding that in the last year, 4 in 5 children aged 8-17 years (80%) said they had been inspired by an image to do something positive.  

It also found that more than 2 in 3 (67%) said that in the last year they have posted an image or video on the internet for a positive reason, including to support friends (40%), to share something interesting with others (31%) and to encourage others to do something positive (17%).

Online empowerment

It is essential that we empower all young people to harness the positive opportunities offered by digital technology, while empowering and supporting them to navigate any risks and pressures they may face.

There are a range of resources available to support schools with this, including:

• Trust Me is a resource toolkit to develop children’s critical thinking skills
• Safer Internet Day 2017 Education Packs exploring the Power of Image
• Apps for Good provide free resources for teachers to use in their classroom
• The Being Me Campaign 
• Dove’s Self Esteem project 
• Anti-bullying charity Ditch the Label 
• Fixers is charity where young people using their past to fix the future 

Read the full girls’ attitude survey here

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Internet Watch Foundation wins ICT Excellence award

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), wins prestigious award for its work in removing child sexual abuse imagery online.

We are delighted to announce that the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), one of the partners in the UK Safer Internet Centre, has been given the Public Sector Excellence Award by the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) at their 2017 Global ICT Excellence Awards.

What is the WITSA?

WITSA is a leading consortium of ICT industry association members from over 80 countries and economies around the world, representing more than 90 percent of the world ICT market from which the winners were picked.

techUK, which represents and provides tech advice to companies and technologies in the UK nominated the IWF for the award for its huge leaps forward in erasing child sexual abuse content from the internet over the past 20 years.

There were seven award categories including Public Sector, Private Sector, Digital Opportunity, Sustainable Growth, Mobile Excellence, Innovative eHealth Solutions and WITSA Emerging Digital Solutions. Non-profit organisations and government entities from around the world were eligible to be nominated in the Public Sector Excellence category.

Why the IWF won

One of the key components for the IWF winning the award was its work turning child sexual abuse images into unique codes, also known as hashes.

Hashes allow the charity’s members to automatically remove an indecent image of a child as soon as it’s matched with an image on the IWF Hash List – even before it has the chance to appear on the member’s services. This breakthrough in 2015 was a game-changer for the charity, which also continues to assess thousands of reports of online child sexual abuse material from the public every week.

It also has implemented a number of reporting portals internationally so people around the world can report online child sexual abuse material.

Susie Hargreaves OBE, IWF’s CEO, said:

“We are absolutely delighted to have been awarded this year’s prestigious Public Sector Excellence Award by WITSA and we can’t thank techUK enough for nominating us.

“To win the award symbolises the achievements that the IWF and our partners, across the world, have made in tackling the issue of online child sexual abuse imagery.

“In today’s world, a child can be sexually abused on one continent and that abuse can be recorded, stored and shared from another. Offenders across the world can then view the images of the abuse, and this can all happen in a matter of minutes. The internet doesn’t respect borders. It is only through working together that we can tackle this truly global problem.”

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Helping schools fulfil filtering and monitoring requirements

by David Wright

David is a Director of the UK Safer Internet Centre at the South West Grid for Learning. He has worked extensively in the area of online safety for many years with children, schools and the wider community.

David Wright, Director of SWGfL and the UK Safer Internet Centre, discusses how we're helping schools fulfil their safeguarding duties by ensuring appropriate levels of monitoring and filtering.

Since July 2015 schools in England and Wales have had the obligation “to ensure children are safe from terrorist and extremist material when accessing the internet in school. This includes by establishing appropriate levels of filtering"[1]. 

For schools in England, this obligation was extended in September 2016 through ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ to include that “appropriate monitoring systems are in place”.

This year, schools in Scotland are expected to “have policies in place relating to the use of IT and to use filtering as a means of restricting access to harmful content.”[2]

What is ‘appropriate’?

Given that these expectations are now in place, along with knowledge that no filtering system is 100% effective, it is understandable why one of the most common questions posed to the Professionals Online Safety Helpline is ‘what is appropriate?’.

To help address this we have developed a response template for school broadband providers, and for filtering and monitoring providers.

The templates look at what constitutes ‘appropriate’ levels of filtering and monitoring and enables providers to self-certify their solutions in relation to specific areas, such as preventing access to inappropriate content.

When developing the definitions, the particular challenge was to produce a framework that would work for all schools, their context, environment, risk and users. 

We have recently started to publish these responses and will continue to do so as we receive them. You can find these responses here.

So why did we do this?

 The aim of these templates was to empower schools to make informed decisions about what filtering and monitoring systems they use, especially when faced with persuasive marketing materials.

It was through the response templates that we aimed to provide:

• Schools with aspects to consider of their current, or future, filtering (and monitoring) provider; the features and performance of the solution in use. 
• Providers with a framework in which to help describe their solutions together with the opportunity to develop innovative features and services.

The recognition and importance of these definitions is reflected within Keeping Children Safe in Education; the DfE’s statutory guidance document.

We welcome comments and feedback on these definitions and will be looking to update these on an annual basis.

[1] Revised Prevent Duty Guidance: for England and Wales, 2015.

[2] Scottish Government national action plan on internet safety

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Online Safety Live kicks off

by David Wright

David is a Director of the UK Safer Internet Centre at the South West Grid for Learning. He has worked extensively in the area of online safety for many years with children, schools and the wider community.

Online Safety Live is the UK’s largest online safety professional development programme for the children’s workforce and this week we set off again for another year.

Delivered by the specialists at SWGfL, this coming year Online Safety Live will see more than 40 events delivered right across the UK, each providing delegates with all the latest online safety information, research, resources and tools within the two hour session. It doesn’t stop there either, as all delegates are provided with course content and further reading to build their own knowledge and skills.

Online Safety Live events are free to attend, made possible thanks to the kind support from BT, Sky, Virgin and TalkTalk, as well as those who kindly donate the use of venues, our partners from Welsh and Scottish Governments and co-presenters C2K.

Since starting in 2013, Online Safety Live has gone from strength to strength. We’ve delivered a grand total of 311 events and trained 12,112 members of the children’s workforce. Every one of these sessions has been delivered by the specialist team at SWGfL. The amazing team draws specialists from across education, law enforcement, industry and child protection, ensuring that the information is always relevant and bang up to date.

What’s in it for you?

Positive impact on the children’s workforce and better outcomes for children:

The feedback from 4,951 evaluations has been considerable and extraordinary:

• 96% said that they are likely to educate children to stay safe online
• 99% said they will share with their colleagues
• 98% said they were better equipped to manage online safety

Positive impact for the whole of the UK:

One of the most important aspects of the programme is that it is delivered in venues across the country, from large purpose built theatres to small community halls. Providing access to this information in small rural areas is as important as large audiences. The entire children’s workforce has the right to access information on how to educate and protect young people online.

To find and book your free place at an Online Safety Live event near you visit www.onlinesafetylive.com

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Back to School - Top tips for supporting young people in the new academic year

In this blog, Kat Tremlett – Professionals Online Safety Helpline practitioner, looks at the importance of teachers taking a step back amid the mayhem of the new academic year and thinking about young people’s mental wellbeing. She also offers some top tips from the Professionals Online Safety Helpline.

Recent research shows that 91% of young people aged 16-24 use social networks and that the use of these services is associated with increased rates of anxiety (#statusofmind). I’d hazard a guess that six weeks off = a LOT of time spent online. I for one know how easy it is to search for something obscure and fall into a black hole of weird and wonderful content. Before you know it half the day’s gone by and nothing’s been done!

The point is, as an adult I have learnt how to self-regulate (well some of the time) and know when enough is enough for me. Young people are still working this out and won’t necessarily be able to control their impulsive nature to keep watching.

Of course there are positive effects of social media too, such as users reporting being more emotionally supported through their contacts online (another finding of #statusofmind), But it’s worth taking a moment to step back from the mayhem that is the beginning of a new school year and think about your pupils’ mental wellbeing.

Here are some top tips if something’s concerning you:

Have a conversation

Time moves on but talking about behaviour is still the best way to address any worries you may have. Talk with young people about your concerns and involve them in the outcome of any discussions. Where possible, respect what they want to happen and let them know you want to help.

Current affairs

The local media can be great for spur of the moment debates; perhaps it’s a news story about grooming or a song in the charts with lyrics around misogyny.

Whatever the topic, open up discussions with young people about current affairs; give them a safe space to test their ideals and encourage them to think critically.

Trust your gut

If you have concerns, act now and inform your safeguarding lead. There is a time and place for subtlety and reasoning, but when it comes to young people’s safety, this is not it.

Focus on the behaviour, not the technology

Older generations often shy away from talking about online behaviour for fear of exposing their lack of knowledge about different platforms. The key thing is the life experience adults have, which is far more valuable than any technological solution.

Focusing on behaviour allows you, as an adult, to draw from your experience to provide the support a young person may need.

As SWGfL's Online Safety Director, Ken Corish, wrote in this blog:

“Our children are not born experts in online life. They may have an affinity for technology but they are still children with all of the inexperience and naivety that brings. It is our job to support those things, no matter in which aspect of their life they occur.”

Do some research

There are no expectations on adults to know the ins and outs of every game, app or website in order to protect young people. But by learning the basics about an app, you at least give yourself a better understanding of the potential risks. You may find our social media guides helpful.

Supervise them

Imagine this – you want to play a DVD to your year 9s that’s rated 15. What would be the next steps to take? Would you roll out the DVD player and leave the class to it? Probably not.

More likely that you would have checked with the parents of the children that they were OK with this and, also have checked the DVD to make sure there weren’t any scenes that would be too disturbing for the audience. Finally you’d supervise the viewing so that if any young person did find something a bit overwhelming, you’d be on hand to defuse the situation.

Social media is much the same. Young people need supervision and it’s everyone’s responsibility to be aware of what young people are doing online.

Ask for help

If you know that a young person is struggling online but don’t know what to do, contact the Professionals Online Safety Helpline for further advice and support. Open from 10am – 4pm Monday – Friday, practitioners will help professionals unpick and resolve issues wherever possible:

Phone 0344 381 4772 Email:helpline@saferinternet.org.uk

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PHE launches Rise Above for Schools programme

Public Health England (PHE) has a new set of Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) resources, called Rise Above for Schools, to support secondary school teachers when promoting positive health, wellbeing and resilience among young people aged 11 to 16.

These lessons plans are to help secondary school teachers engage pupils with coping strategies for a variety of health and well-being issues, including the pressures they face online.

All Rise Above for Schools resources have been developed in collaboration with teachers and the PSHE Association. The resources have also received the PSHE Association’s Quality Mark. The resources include a range of techniques for teachers to employ to enable pupils to safely learn, explore and discuss coping strategies for dealing with issues, such as:

• bullying and cyberbullying
• alcohol use and smoking
• positive relationships and friendships
• exam stress
• online and social media stress
• body image in a digital world

Rise Above for Schools hosts exclusive content from key influencers including vloggers, Instagram stars, musicians, gamers and TV presenters. The audience of 11 to 16 year-olds co-created films, interactive videos, animations, quizzes and more on topics that really matter to them, such as social media, body image and online stress.

Download the Rise Above for Schools lesson plans on the School Zone at www.NHS.uk/riseabove/schools.

well-being

lesson plans

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What is a Snapchat streak?

Snapchat is an app that is hugely popular among young people. The app allows users to send photos and videos to their contacts and create ‘streaks’. 

How does Snapchat work?

Snapchat is a messaging app that allows users to share content, such as photos, texts and videos, i.e. ‘Snaps’. Snaps only appear for a matter of seconds before disappearing from users’ screens.

You can choose to send a ‘Snap’ directly to one other person, or you can post it on your ‘Story’ so that it can be viewed by all of your contacts. 

Your contacts are able to view this for 24 hours before it is deleted from your account.

What is a streak?

Streaks count how many consecutive days two people have been sending Snaps to each other. Every day they send a Snap their streak gets longer.

How do you know if you have a streak?

A streak is shown next to a contact’s name on the Snapchat app. A streak is symbolised by a little picture of a flame and the number of days the streaks has gone on for. Only the two people involved in the streak can see this.

Why are young people so interested in streaks?

Streaks give users a sense of competition and friendship. A lot of young people want to get streaks to rivals their friends, or to show that they have a very close friendship with a particular contact.

However, there can be pressure to respond on a daily basis and it may affect their self-esteem if they feel that others have stronger friendships.  

Tips for parents and carers

Have a conversation - A simple and effective way to get involved with your children and their lives online is through discussion. Ask them about what they like about Snapchat and other apps that they use, keeping an ongoing conversation with your child about their internet usage is a key way to help them navigate the online world safely. You could talk about the pressures they may face and reassure them they can always talk to you. Read our conversation starters for help.

Have a go on Snapchat yourself! – create your own profile and have a look at the safety features that are available. You can see what you like about different aspects of the app and gain a better understanding of why your child may like using it. Having this base knowledge of the app will help you if your child ever comes to you with an issue.

See our other Snapchat blogs 

Reporting within Snapchat stories

Introducing Location sharing and the settings within Snapmaps

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NSPCC publish report into young people’s use of online services

The NSPCC Net Aware Report 2017: “Freedom to express myself safely” aims to provide a snapshot of young people’s online lives. 

Using data from the NSPCC and O2’s 2017 Net Aware research with 1,696 11-18 year olds, this report seeks to amplify the voices of children and young people – exploring what they like about the online space, as well as highlighting the factors that prevent them from using it safely.

Positive experiences

Young people are motivated by enjoyment in their exploration of the online space. They value opportunities for:

• Fun

Respondents are enthusiastic about the potential for fun and enjoyment online; this includes sharing funny videos, posting photos and playing games.

A 13 year old boy said about Facebook:

“It’s good to see trends and to share things you like [and] find funny [things], how your friends, tag people in things they might be involved in or like, and it’s easy to talk to your friends”

• Communication

The social opportunities provided by the internet serve a range of purposes for respondents including keeping in touch with friends and family, school work and employment advice, and building communities and social groups.

A 13 year old girl said about FaceTime:

“[I like] getting to speak to others face to face who aren’t currently with you, I love [to] FaceTime my family in New York and Australia”  

• Self-expression, self-representation and creativity

Scope for self-expression is found in the imaginative nature of games, the potential for exploration and freedom, and the creative functionality of some platforms.

A 12 year old boy said:

“It’s fun, because you can create a world of imagination”

• Online autonomy

Young people feel empowered when sites offer effective tools to keep them safe online. They praise robust privacy settings, and effective reporting and blocking mechanisms.

A 13 year old girl said:

“The things I like about WhatsApp is that I can add people ONLY from my contacts and if any random people contact me I can easily block them”

Negative experiences

The research also found that these positive experiences are often tainted by negative ones – one in four (997 out of 3,975) reviews stated that the platform being reviewed was risky. This was across all sites included in the research. The primary risks identified were:

• Inappropriate content: This is particularly prevalent on sites and apps with live streaming functionality
• Violence and hatred: One in three (1,194 out of 3,975) young people’s reviews reported seeing violent and hateful content. This may be in user-generated content, footage from the news or fictional violence in games.
• Sexual content and behaviour: One in five (815 out of 3,975) young people’s reviews reported seeing sexual content including accidentally finding it, being sent sexual messages, or being encouraged to share sexual content themselves.
• Bullying: Just under one in five (772 out of 3,975) young people’s reviews reported seeing bullying. Some noted bullying within a social group, while others indicated that the opportunity to be anonymous on some platforms was facilitating bullying behaviour.

The research also found that over a third of respondents (615 out of 1,696) had added someone online that they did not know in the last six months and nearly a quarter  (385 out of 1,696) said they were likely or very likely to add someone they did not know online in the future.

Read the full report

Read the research highlight

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The real cost of online gaming

by

Katt is Assistant Project Co-ordinator for SWGfL and UKSIC, she is also a gaming enthusiast and has worked as a beta tester for a number of titles.

In this blog, I’ll be looking at some of the issues that can arise from online games and apps that ask for real money as well as offer in-game currency or rewards for increased play time.

As a parent of a teenage boy who has recently finished his GCSEs, I’ve been extremely happy to be seeing a lot more of him over the summer holidays as he takes a well-earned break from intense study and stressful examinations. His hobbies at the moment include PC gaming and not tidying his room.

Many other young people will be in the same position and have suddenly found themselves with a lot of free time and, for some, their first debit cards and accessible bank accounts as they find holiday jobs. With an increasing number of apps and games asking for payment details, it’s a good idea to have a chat with your children about their online activities and general online safety, with a focus on keeping personal and payment details secure and safe.

In game currency

As a gaming example, the most played PC game in my household is “League of Legends”; it’s free to play and is aimed at teenagers and young adults. League of Legends has two game currencies:

• “Influence Points” - earned by playing matches, and
• “Riot Points” - purchased with real money.

Both currencies can be spent in-game but what you can purchase differs with each currency.

Many online games and apps offer similar systems with currency being earned for time spent playing and a separate currency that can be purchased with real money; often called  credits, gems, points, and crystals among many others. The terms “Micro-economy”, “Micro Transaction” and “Pay to Win” are often used in relation to games with these types of currency systems.
 

Rewards

The majority of free to play MMORPGS (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) reward the player for logging in on a daily basis – similar to keeping up a streak in Snapchat. If someone logs in to claim the reward, it’s highly likely that they’ll continue playing after they’ve received it.

Games that reward time spent playing can increase gaming time beyond agreed boundaries and can create pressure to continue playing. Players may feel that they have to play in order to keep up or compete with those who are able to spend real money on the game.

Games where currency can be purchased using real money usually offer high incentives for doing so. Players who spend real money on a game are often able to advance quicker or buy powerful items that give them an in-game advantage over other players.

Bonuses are also usually offered for making a real money purchase which means that players can easily overspend and are encouraged to make repeat purchases.

Limiting game time

One of the biggest gaming companies in China is Tencent, who recently made the decision to limit game time on the most popular mobile game in the world, Honour of Kings, to one hour per day for users under the age of 12 after complaints from parents that their children were becoming addicted.

Having an agreed limit to the amount of time spent playing games online is a great idea but it can sometimes be hard to find the right limit or balance. It’s important to have a conversation with your child about what they want to achieve in the game – is it being social with friends, reaching a certain level, or completing something specific within the game?

Sometimes an exact time limit doesn’t work with the type of game so you might need to be flexible and agree upon a “number of quests completed” or a “number of team matches played” limit instead.

Have a conversation

If you get your child to talk about what they enjoy in relation to the games they’re playing, you’ll learn a lot more about what they’re doing online and it means you can agree the limits together. Coming to an agreement together is likely to get a better result than setting a strict rule and demanding that it’s adhered to.

For games that ask for real money to be spent – it’s worth having a discussion about the value of digital items. It may be that your child can afford to buy a set of flaming phoenix wings that will make their character look “OP” (Over Powered) but how much are those wings worth when interest is lost in the game and it’s no longer played? Are you able to give them an example of another toy or item of clothing that they really wanted but no longer use?

It’s a great dialogue to have as it opens up a wider avenue of conversations about sensible spending and the value of money.

Spending safely

If your child is determined to spend real money and has your permission, you may want to guide them through the transaction.

Most purchases of currency are made through third party sites and encourage the use of payment methods such as PayPal, WePay or Google Checkout – ensure that you know what to look out for in terms of online security (it should look similar to the image below, including the https:// and the padlock symbol in the address bar of the browser) and how to check that a site is genuine – check the address bar, look for spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. If you’re ever in doubt, don’t make the purchase.

Take an interest

For a lot of parents, the online world that children inhabit can seem like a mysterious place filled with danger and potential pitfalls. Games these days are far more sophisticated than they were when many of us were growing up, and it’s important to be aware that gamers today are often subjected to a range of targeted advertising campaigns.

Unless you play the games yourself, you may not be aware of the actual game content or the nature of these advertising tactics. Try to familiarise yourself with the games your child plays, and try getting your child’s take on the game as well.

A great site to get a balanced viewpoint is www.commonsensemedia.org where you can search for any game or app to find in-depth reviews from both parents and children.

This blog was originally published by SWGfL

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Free cyberbullying resources for teachers

Following research by YoungMinds and The Children’s Society, we look at some resources that teachers can use to talk to their students about cyberbullying.

YoungMinds and The Children’s Society, have carried out a survey of children and young people aged 11-25 to hear about their views and experiences of cyberbullying. Their survey found that:

• 46% of young people asked said they had experienced threatening, intimidating or nasty messages via social media, email or text.
• 37% reported having personal experience of online bullying in their lifetime
• 26% have personal experience of online bullying within the last year.
• 42% said they had seen somebody be harassed or bullied online.

At UKSIC we have created many adaptable and practical resources for teachers and other educators to effectively prevent and respond to bullying online. Targeted at different ages and groups of young people, these engaging free resources aim to empower young people to create kinder online communities and how they can report if they experience or witness cyberbullying.

General Cyberbullying guidance

Crossing the Line: PSHE Toolkit

For use with pupils aged 11-14 years old

Childnet, as part of their work in the UK Safer Internet Centre, have create a practical online safety PSHE toolkit with films and lesson plans to explore online issues with pupils aged 11-14 years old. This toolkit is a PSHE Association Quality-Assured Resource and has sections on peer pressure and cyberbullying.

Throughout the toolkit there are films, lesson plans, guidance and worksheets. The Crossing the Line toolkit is aimed at secondary school student, however the videos used throughout are rated PG and there are activities within the toolkit which are signposted as being suitable for younger years.

Cyberbullying guidance

For school staff

Childnet’s cyberbullying guidance is designed to support schools in preventing and responding to cyberbullying.  This resource gives clear guidance for school staff and comprises of four main sections;

1. Understanding cyberbullying
2. Preventing cyberbullying
3. Responding to cyberbullying
4. Supporting school staff

This guidance has been shaped by a range of experts in this area who formed part of an Advisory Board, as well as the voice of young people on this subject area.

Department for Education cyberbullying guidance

Advice for headteachers and school staff

Non-statutory advice from the Department for Education, for head teachers and school staff, on how to protect yourself from cyber bullying and how to tackle it if it happens.

Enable

For students, teachers, parents and carers

Enable is a pan-European anti-bullying programme, aimed at developing social and emotional learning skills as a means of building resilience in young people, so that they can better understand and become more responsible and effective for their on and offline social interactions.

Exploring the issue of online hate

Packs for use with 3-11 year olds, 11-19 year olds and parents

Our Safer Internet Day 2016 education packs tackle the issues around online hate. These resource packs are tailored for different ages, there is a pack for 3-11 year olds (primary) and 11-19 year olds (secondary), as well as the parent and carer pack, and Welsh translations of each.

These packs provide lots of great ideas to help schools, youth groups, libraries and other organisations talk about online hate.

SWGfL Digital Literacy

For all year groups

SWGfL (South West Grid for Learning) has created free digital literacy and citizen schemes of learning. These include medium term plans, individual lesson plans and links to resources and activities. These are designed to empower pupils and students to think critically, behave safely, and participate responsibly in our digital world.

There are specific lessons and activities on cyberbullying on the Digital Literacy website.

Film Resources

Let’s fight it Together

For use with 11 to 15 year olds, adaptable for KS2 students

Childnet’s award winning film, Let’s fight it together, helps sensitise people to the hurt and pain that can be caused by cyberbullying. The film shows ways in which cyberbullying can occur, who it involves, how it can affect different people, and what can be done to prevent and respond to it.

The Lets fight It Together film is designed to be used with 11 to 15 year olds, however many KS2 teachers are now also using the film with their classes.

The Adventures of Captain Kara

For use with 7-11 year olds

These films follow the adventures of Captain Kara and her SMART crew as they navigate the online world.

The SMART rules are designed to teach primary school pupils about the things they should remember when going online. The T in SMART stands for Tell, meaning that young people should tell an adult if they are concerned about anything that they see online.

For younger years

Digiduck’s Big Decision

To be used with children aged 3 to 7 year old

Help arrives just in time for Digiduck® when faced with a difficult decision. This book allows you to follow Digiduck® and his pals in this story of friendship and responsibility online.

The Digiduck® collection has been created to help parents and teachers educate children aged 3 - 7 about how to be a good friend online.  The collection now includes a book, PDF and interactive app.

Smartie the Penguin

To be used with children aged 3 to 7 year old

Smartie the Penguin is an online safety story for 3 to 7 year olds. In the presentation you and your students can learn Mummy Penguin’s song and help teach Smartie about online safety issues such as cyberbullying.

For SEN students

Be Safe and Smart Online – for deaf young people

To be used with deaf young people

The UKSIC and Childnet’s Be Safe and Smart Online is a set of resources created in partnership with The National Deaf Children’s Society. They are designed to help and support deaf young people and their parents, carers and teachers to help and remind them how to stay safe online.

The STAR toolkit

To be used with young people with autism spectrum disorders

Childnet have created the STAR toolkit to give practical advice and teaching activities to help educators explore online safety with young people with autism spectrum disorders in Key Stage 3 and 4.

The STAR toolkit covers the areas of: safe, trust, action, and respect. The respect section looks at being kind online and the importance of being a considerate online citizen.

For more advice

The Professionals Online Safety Helpline

For professionals working with young people

The Professionals Online Safety Helpline was set up in 2011 to help the children’s workforce with online safety issues.

The POSH Helpline can help with any online safety issues, including;- privacy, online reputation, gaming, grooming, cyberbullying, sexting and inappropriate behaviour on social media.

As the only helpline in the UK solely dedicated to supporting the children’s workforce, POSH are unique in their relationships within industry. They have direct channels to escalate concerns to social media companies and many websites. The helpline is available Monday to Friday 10am - 4pm. You can call them on: 0344 381 4772 or email: helpline@saferinternet.org.uk

For young people concerned about bullying

Anti Bullying Alliance

The Anti-Bullying Alliance is a coalition of organisations and individuals working together to stop bullying and create safer environments in which children and young people can live, grow, play and learn. 

The Mix

The Mix is a support service for young people, offering help on whatever challenge young people are facing, such as mental health, money, break-ups and drugs.

Childline

Childline is a free confidential helpline for anyone under 19 in the UK with trained counsellors are here to support with a range of issues. Call 0800 1111

Stonewall

Stonewall works for acceptance without exception for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. 

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Keeping your account secure on Instagram

Last week it was reported that a large number of celebrities, most notably Selena Gomez, had their Instagram account hacked. Today it appears that the number of hacks is much higher than initially thought, with an estimated 6 million account details being leaked.

In response to the hack Instagram representatives have said:

“…we’re encouraging you to report any unusual activity through our reporting tools. You can access those tools by tapping the “…” menu from your profile, selecting ‘Report a Problem' and then 'Spam or Abuse.”

But what can you do to make sure that your Instagram is as secure as it can be? Here are some tips to help keep your account safe:

Keep your password strong and unique

• Pick a strong password
  There are a few ways that you can make sure that your password is as strong as possible. Make sure your password is a minimum of 10 characters, that it uses both uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and other characters on a keyboard eg ! ? @ £ %
• Make it memorable
  To make sure you remember your password you can use memorable words, a line of lyrics from a song or a memorable quote from a film. You can make these harder to guess by using numbers instead of some letters eg replace all the vowels with numbers!
• Keep your password unique
  Your password should be different from other passwords you use anywhere else on the internet.
• Never tell other people your password
  The more people that know your password the less secure it is. Treat your password like your toothbrush, you shouldn't share it with anyone else.
• Change your password when prompted
  On Instagram you may get a prompt when your password needs changing, for example if there is a risk that it has been compromised. Changing your password helps to keep your account secure and prevent you from being hacked in the future. However if you get an unrequested email telling you to change your password, do not click on any links it  contains;  go directly to the website instead and change your password there.

Use a secure email address

• Make sure your email account is secure
  If someone can gain access to your email address then they may be able to access any accounts that are linked to it. Always make sure that no two email passwords are the same.

Once you’ve set up your account

• Turn on two-factor authentication in Instagram for additional account security.
  Two-factor verification means that anytime that you log into Instagram from a new device you will have to confirm that it is you by using a code sent to your mobile number.
• Log out
  It is especially important to log out of your account when you use a computer or phone you share with other people. Don’t check the “Remember Me” box when logging in from a public computer, as this will keep you logged in even after you close the browser window, making it easy for other users to access your account.

Think about which apps you give access

• Think before you authorise any third-party apps.
  Before you give an app access to your Instagram account think about whether this is a trusted app and what data it will require.

Instagram has also released security guidance to help prevent your account from being hacked. 

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