The digital advancement within schools has been gaining momentum for many years. Many institutions have already implemented technological resources in their routines as a way to enhance learning and make the school environment more practical and efficient. But, in addition to that, it's important to talk about security in schools, including in the digital environment.
Recent attacks in daycare centers and schools have demonstrated how security vulnerabilities can be anywhere, highlighting the need to pay attention to all aspects that affect children . School has always represented a safe space where parents left their children without worry.
However, these tragedies ended up destroying that presumed trust and demonstrated to parents that threats can come from anywhere. Many institutions hired security professionals to guarantee the physical safety of their students. But what about security in the digital environment?
With the arrival of the recent Covid-19 pandemic, many schools faced the need to adapt their classes and activities to the online format. This change brought great concern to institutions and parents/guardians, mainly due to the security of data and children in this environment.
This is because the recurring use of devices for communication between institutions and students has highlighted significant vulnerabilities that can endanger the physical and mental safety of these children. According to Microsoft data, only 58% of children and adolescents report to a responsible adult after experiencing some risk online , demonstrating the need to seek viable solutions.
But what are the real risks that students face in the digital environment within schools?
Internet security within educational institutions.
Unlike previous generations, children today are in contact with technology from birth and are adapted to the use of digital devices and resources. Following the technological trend, schools utilize various tools aimed at improving learning , helping children adapt to new technologies and using these resources to their advantage in their daily routine and school development.
However, while the internet offers numerous benefits when used in a school environment, it also presents some negative aspects, mainly regarding data protection and the safety of children when using digital tools.
The recent case of the 12-year-old girl who was kidnapped in Rio de Janeiro has brought to the forefront the demand for more effective control of children's online behavior. According to a 2022 survey, approximately 93% of children and adolescents (aged 9 to 17) use the internet . Among children aged 10 to 12 alone, the percentage of smartphone users increased from 76% to 79% (data from the Panorama Mobile Time/Opinion Box ).
The reality is that, given the many vulnerabilities that can be found in the digital environment, technology can also be a real risk. Among the main digital security problems in the school environment , we can mention:
Lack of security and privacy during online activities.
Although the internet and digital tools offer many benefits to educational institutions and children's learning, they also facilitate the collection of data about children using these platforms. This data can be misappropriated and used maliciously by criminals.
Even the most innocent-looking app can be a real danger when it comes to cybersecurity. The confidentiality of information is a major concern today, so much so that the General Data Protection Law (LGPD) has introduced essential paradigms to guarantee the protection of information in the digital environment.
Sharing data with third parties
Data sharing is a major concern in the digital age. When we refer to children and their online safety, this concern takes on even greater proportions. Recent data breach incidents have exposed the vulnerability of children in the digital environment.
Educational platforms, while practical and beneficial, often come from third-party developers who don't always guarantee that the collected information is protected according to legal specifications . This means that data such as full name, date of birth, home address, photos, and other information can be viewed by third parties and even fall into the hands of people with dangerous intentions.
Contact with cybercriminals
Depending on the school's policy, students may have access to various websites, gaming platforms, and entertainment pages. On many of these pages and games, users can stay in touch with classmates and gaming partners without any kind of control or monitoring.
The biggest problem with this type of contact is that, among these users, there may be people with criminal and dangerous intentions . As a result, children can be exposed to numerous risks and threats, providing extremely sensitive data such as photos, home address, family routine, and more.
Students' exposure on social media
It is very important that parents are aware of how their children's images are being used on the internet. No matter how good the intentions, the exposure of children's photos on social media (in cases where there is no parental oversight) can be extremely dangerous. It is important that there is agreement between the educational institution and the parents/guardians on how students' images can be used safely.
However harmless this type of information may seem, knowing the routines, addresses, and schedules of children facilitates the actions of kidnappers , demonstrating how dangerous this type of information exchange can be.
The danger of internet challenges.
For children, online games and internet challenges represent one of the greatest dangers in the digital world. This is because these children lack the necessary discernment to determine what is dangerous or what could pose a risk to their mental and physical health.
These challenges, which start as games, can take a dark and dangerous turn, jeopardizing the mental and physical well-being of children. Another particularly dangerous example is online harassment. This includes cyberbullying , digital harassment, and trolling.
The internet provides extremely important and relevant solutions for today's world, but it is also an environment full of threats. Due to the increased use of technological resources in the school environment, cases of cyberbullying have increased dramatically in recent years, posing unimaginable risks to children.
All these factors ultimately show us that concern about the threats of the digital world should be a priority for parents. To this end, it is necessary to have security resources and tools that help keep children away from problems in the digital environment, especially within schools.
How can we protect students online?
We know that many of these threats are beyond our control. But it's important for parents to know what their children are doing online. It's essential that families find ways to minimize exposure to the various dangers found on the internet.
For this reason, it is important that parents and educational institutions establish efficient access controls to help monitor what children do in the digital environment. Using access control and blocking tools helps reduce exposure and contributes to protecting the integrity and health of children.
We even recently published an interesting resource, a Guide for Educators , which shows in a practical way good tools to protect students on the school internet.
Having the right resources allows schools and parents to avoid the harm that can be caused by the dangers of the internet. We have recently seen absurd cases in the media, often resulting from exposure to dangerous content online. For this reason, we must keep a close eye on everything that is done in the digital environment and prevent our children from being exposed to these dangers that are causing more and more problems.
Until later!
