Digital advancement within schools had already been gaining major proportions for many years. Many institutions have already implemented their routines with technological resources, as a way of promoting learning and making the routine within the school even more practical and intelligent. But, in addition, it is important that we talk about security in schools in the digital environment as well.
Recent attacks on daycare centers and schools have demonstrated how security vulnerabilities can be anywhere, a fact that highlights the need to pay attention to all aspects that affect children . School has always represented a safe space, where parents left their children without worries.
However, these tragedies ended up destroying this assumed trust and demonstrating to parents that threats can come from anywhere. Many institutions have hired security professionals to guarantee the physical integrity of their students. But what about security in the digital environment?
With the arrival of the recent Covid-19 pandemic, many schools were faced with the need to adapt their classes and activities online. This change brought great concern to institutions and those responsible for students, mainly due to the security of data and children in this environment.
This is because the recurrent use of devices for communication between institutions and students has highlighted major vulnerabilities that can put the physical and mental safety of these children at risk. According to data from Microsoft, only 58% of children and adolescents report it to a guardian after experiencing a risk on the internet , demonstrating the need to search for 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 have been in contact with technology since birth and adapted to using digital devices and resources. Following the flow of technology, schools use various tools aimed at improving learning , helping children adapt to new technologies and using these resources to benefit their routine and school development.
However, even though the internet presents numerous benefits when applied in a school environment, it also presents some negative aspects, mainly with regard to data protection and children's safety when using digital tools.
The recent case of the 12-year-old girl who was kidnapped in Rio de Janeiro brought to the agenda the demand for more efficient control of children's behavior on the internet. According to a survey carried out in 2022, around 93% of children and adolescents (aged 9 to 17) use the internet . Among children aged 10 to 12 alone, the percentage of smartphone users rose from 76% to 79% (data from the Panorama Mobile Time/Opinion Box ).
The reality is that, given so many weaknesses 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 provide many benefits to educational institutions and children's learning, it also favors the collection of data about children who use the platforms. This data can be diverted and used maliciously by criminals.
The most innocent of applications 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 brought essential paradigms to guarantee the protection of information in the digital environment.
Data sharing with third parties
Data sharing is a very big concern in the digital age. When we refer to children and their safety on the internet, this concern takes on an even greater proportion. Recent data leak incidents have exposed the state of vulnerability that children present in the digital environment.
Educational platforms, although practical and beneficial, often come from third-party developers, who do not always provide guarantees that the information collected is protected in accordance with the specifications of the law . 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 school policy, students may have access to different websites, gaming platforms and entertainment pages. On many of these pages and games, users are able to maintain contact with colleagues and game partners, without any type 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, among others.
Student 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, exposing photos of children on social media (in cases where there is no type of control by those responsible) can be extremely dangerous. It is important that there is agreement between the educational institution and those responsible on how student images can be used safely.
As harmless as this type of information may seem, knowing the children's routine, addresses and schedules favors the actions of kidnappers , demonstrating how dangerous this type of information exchange can be.
The danger of challenges on the internet
For children, online games and internet challenges represent one of the greatest dangers in the digital world. This is because these children do not have the necessary discernment to know how to determine what is dangerous or what could pose a risk to their mental and physical health.
These challenges come in the form of games and can take a dark and dangerous path, putting the mental and physical integrity of children at risk. Another very dangerous example is online harassment. In this regard, we can include cyberbullying , digital harassment and trolling.
The internet provides extremely important and relevant solutions for today, but it is also an environment full of threats. Due to the growth in the use of technological resources in the school environment, cases of cyberbullying have increased drastically in recent years, causing unthinkable risks for children.
All these factors end up showing us that concern about threats from the digital world should be a priority for parents. To do this, it is necessary to have security resources and tools that help keep children away from problems in the digital environment, especially within schools.
How to protect students on the internet?
We know that many of these threats are beyond our control. But it is important for parents to know what their children do online. It is essential that families find ways to minimize exposure to the various dangers found on the internet.
To this end, it is important that guardians and educational institutions establish efficient access control, which helps 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 published interesting material recently, a Guide for Educators , which shows in a practical way good tools for protecting students on the school's internet.
Having the correct resources allows the school and those responsible to avoid the damage that can be caused by the dangers of the internet. We are currently seeing absurd cases in the media, often resulting from the exposure of dangerous content on the internet. 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!
