Despite taking proactive measures to keep their children safe online, 54 per cent of UAE parents worry that they will be lured away by a stranger, according to an international cyber security report.

Research recently published from Norton by Symantec revealed that more than eight in ten UAE parents (85 per cent) are concerned about their children’s safety on the internet.

The cyber security report also said that parents are concerned about their children downloading malicious programs or apps (60 per cent), disclosing too much personal information to strangers (51 per cent), saying or doing something online that makes the whole family vulnerable (52 per cent), and posting something that will haunt them in the future with job or university prospects (48 per cent).

The Norton Cyber Security Insights Report carried out a survey of almost 21,000 consumers globally, which found that two in five parents in the UAE believe their children are more likely to be bullied online than at school in the playground.

Tamim Taufiq, head of Norton Middle East, said: “Parents play a critical role in educating their children on the boundaries for acceptable and safe internet behaviours. An open dialogue about online experiences is the first step in protecting children online.”

Half of UAE parents said they worry their children will be bullied or harassed (49 percent), be lured away by a stranger (54 percent), and two in three (67 percent) believe children today are more exposed to online dangers than children five years ago.

Taufiq said that while preventing children from going online is not necessarily the answer, “we encourage parents to establish house rules on Internet usage based on their age and talk to their children about their online experiences.”

While nearly three in ten UAE parents allow their children under six years to access the internet, a majority of parents implement proactive measures to keep their children safe online, such as limiting access to certain websites and apps (48 percent) or allowing Internet access only under parental supervision (47 percent).

How to keep children safe online

1. Establish a set of guidelines for how your children use technology, also known as online etiquette. These guidelines may include how much time can be spent online, which websites are safe to use or what language is appropriate when chatting.
2. Create a set of House Rules for children’s online communication, downloading, websites that are safe to visit, and cyber harassment. A decrease in negative online experiences is closely linked to households where there is an open dialogue with children about online safety.
3. Teach young children to use strong and unique passwords across all their accounts and never to share passwords, even with their friends.
4. Discuss the risks of posting and sharing private information, videos, and photographs, especially on social media websites - everything posted online is a digital footprint for children and can be challenging to completely erase.
5. Children are likely to imitate their parents’ behaviour, so parents are encouraged to lead by example and show their children how to safely surf online

source : gulfnews