The growth of the internet gave rise to many important services accessible to anyone with a connection. One of these important services is
digital communication. While this service allowed communication with others through the internet, this also allowed communication with malicious users. While malicious users often use the internet for personal gain, this may not be limited to financial/material gain. This is especially a concern to parents and children, as children are targets of these malicious users. Common threats to personal safety include phishing, internet scams, malware, cyberstalking, cyberbullying, online predators, and sextortion.
Cyberstalking Cyberstalking is the use of the
internet or other electronic means to
stalk or
harass an individual, group, or organization. It is a crime in which someone harasses or stalks a victim using electronic or digital means, such as
social media, email, instant messaging, or messages posted to a discussion group or forum. It may include
false accusations,
defamation,
slander and
libel. It may also include monitoring,
identity theft, threats, vandalism, solicitation for sex, or
gathering information that may be used to threaten, embarrass or harass. The terms cyberstalking and cyberbullying are often used interchangeably.
Cyberbullying Cyberbullying is the use of electronic means such as instant messaging, social media, e-mail and other forms of online communication with the intent to abuse, intimidate, or overpower an individual or group. Over the past decade, cyberbullying has been a social problem identified as a significant problem for youth. In a 2012 study of over 11,925 students in the United States, it was indicated that 23% of adolescents reported being a victim of cyberbullying, 30% of which reported experiencing suicidal behavior. The Australian
eSafety Commissioner's website reports that 44% of young Australians report being socially excluded, threatened or abused online. Sometimes, this takes the form of posting unverifiable and illegal libelous statements on harassment websites. These websites then run advertisements encouraging the victims to pay thousands of dollars to related businesses to get the posts removed – temporarily, as opposed to the free and permanent removal process available through major web search engines.
Obscene/offensive content Various websites on the internet contain material that some deem offensive, distasteful, explicit, or sexual content, which may often be not of the user's liking. Such websites may include the
internet,
shock sites,
hate speech or otherwise inflammatory content. Such content may manifest in many ways, such as
pop-up ads and unsuspecting links. Offensive content can also be found on social media sites, where platforms balance
moderation with free speech. This often takes the form of hate speech, targeting
marginalized people whose reports are less likely to be taken seriously by moderation teams. The proliferation of hate speech creates an environment where users feel unsafe and unprotected by websites.
Sextortion Sextortion, especially via the use of webcams, is a concern, especially for those who use
webcams for
flirting and
cybersex. Often this involves a
cybercriminal posing as someone else - such as an
attractive person - initiating communication of a sexual nature with the victim. The victim is then persuaded to undress in front of a webcam, and may also be persuaded to engage in sexual behavior, such as
masturbation. The video is recorded by the cybercriminal, who then reveals their true intent and demands money or other services (such as more explicit images of the victim, in cases of
online predation), threatening to publicly release the video and send it to family members and friends of the victim if they do not comply. in the
UK to educate people, especially given the fact that
blackmail of a sexual nature may cause
humiliation to a sufficient extent to cause the victim to
take their own life,
Doxxing Doxxing is the act of sharing a person's private information over the internet without consent. This information typically includes home addresses, phone numbers, and names. These attacks are often done with malicious intent, leaving individuals vulnerable to threats and harassment offline. Anonymity emboldens doxxers to expose this sensitive data, removing the fear of consequences for their actions. A form of doxing is known as
swatting, where the doxxer falsely alerts the police to an attack occurring on the victim's premises. ==Age appropriateness==