Online Safety
Online safety, also referred to as internet safety, encompasses the measures and considerations needed to protect individuals from various risks associated with using the web. As internet usage surged in the 2000s, so too did the prevalence of cybercrimes, including identity theft, phishing, and financial scams, which target users' sensitive information. The rise of social media also gave way to cyberbullying, where individuals, particularly youth, face harassment that can have tragic consequences, including severe emotional distress or even suicide.
Legislative efforts, such as the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), have been enacted to regulate online content and protect minors from potential dangers, including exposure to inappropriate material and exploitation by predators. Cybersecurity remains a critical focus, as hackers employ various tactics, such as viruses and malware, to exploit vulnerabilities in users’ systems. With the continuous evolution of technology, maintaining online safety requires ongoing vigilance and the implementation of preventative measures, including the use of antivirus software and awareness of online behaviors. As reliance on the internet grows, so too does the need for effective strategies to safeguard users from emerging threats.
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Subject Terms
Online Safety
Online safety, also known as internet safety, refers to considerations of any possible risks, including emotional and financial, involved with browsing and using the web, especially concerning any exchange of private or sensitive information. This concept became prevalent in the 2000s as Internet crimes advanced alongside computer and online technology. The amount of information users entrusted to the Internet also grew exponentially during this time, as people began turning online to handle more transactions such as banking, bill paying, and shopping. An increasing variety of cybercrimes, including identity theft, credit card scams, spam, and phishing, in which users are tricked into disclosing sensitive information, became serious issued.
The rise of the internet and ocial media websites also brought about an influx of cyberbullying, where a person, typically a child or teenager, is harassed by peers or even strangers online. Due to the anonymity afforded by some Internet sites, this bullying is often severe and in some cases has led to the victim committing suicide. Cyberstalking is another issue of online safety and is a form of cyberbullying committed most often by adults.
Brief History
The concept of online safety has been established to some extent since the Internet became available to the public in the 1990s. Around the same time, the crime of phishing began to develop, though it did not become well known until the mid-2000s. Hackers and others who traded pirated software formed communities online where they developed these phishing scams. The first form of this crime used algorithms to create randomized credit card numbers that were then used to open accounts with America Online (AOL), one of the first providers of Internet access. Those accounts were used to further scam people until 1995 when AOL created security measures to prevent the use of generated credit card numbers.
In 2001, phishers began targeting online payment systems to steal users’ information. The first attack in June 2001 was on E-Gold, a website that allowed users to open accounts denominated in grams of gold and make transfers to other accounts. Two years later phishers began setting up websites that resembled legitimate ones like the online payment service PayPal in order to trick people into providing their sensitive information. Since 2003, phishers have been using other sophisticated methods to target banking websites and their users. According to Javelin Strategy and Research, fraud, phishing, and other forms of identity theft affected 15 million Americans and led to a loss of $43 billion in 2023.
Cyberbullying and cyberstalking have also become major topics regarding online safety. In 2008 the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University found that cyberbullying was a major form of harassment facing youth. According to a 2023 survey of 5,005 students in grades 6–12 by the Cyberbullying Research Center, 55 percent of students reported they had experienced bullying online. Most cyberbullying prevention and safety programs stress the monitoring of a child’s online activity by a parent.
Overview
Several issues regarding security have continued to plague both young and adult users of the Internet alike, especially as the convenience of and reliance upon this service has increased. The accessibility of pornographic materials was especially debated, and with the Communications Decency Act of 1996, Congress attempted to regulate it. The anti-indecency provisions of this act were struck down the following year. In 2000, Congress enacted the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA), which requires schools and libraries subject to CIPA to have internet safety policies that include monitoring online activities of minors and to educate minors about appropriate online behavior and cyberbullying awareness and response.
Aside from the harmful effects of pornographic materials on children, the spread of cyberbullying became an important issue starting in the early 2000s. This form of bullying takes place online, typically on social media websites but also via chat rooms and other websites. The bullying usually involves cruel messages, rumors, pictures, or even fake social media profiles meant to harm an individual. Surveys have shown that youths who are cyberbullied are more likely to skip school, use alcohol or drugs, and develop low self-esteem. In some tragic cases, it has led to suicide. One high-profile case involved the suicide of thirteen-year-old Megan Meier, a student in Missouri who hanged herself after being cyberbullied by classmates on the social media website MySpace.
To combat cyberbullying and reinforce online safety, the US government established the website Stop Bullying, which provides an overview of what cyberbullying is and how to prevent it. Numerous other websites and organizations, including the American Humane Association, have developed programs and educational websites to help prevent and report cyberbullying. Many schools have added cyberbullying to their anti-bullying policies to help prevent and regulate it as well. Online safety discussions concerning children also typically include warnings against sexual predators who target youth and attempt to arrange meetings in person.
In 2024, the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) went into effect in the United States. The act governs the collection of information online from children under the age of thirteen. Operators of websites and online services that knowingly collect information from users under thirteen must notify parents of their data collection practices; obtain parental consent for the collection, use, or disclosure of their child's personal information; grant parents access to their child's information; only collect strictly necessary information from the child; and have in place reasonable procedures for protecting children's personal information.
Other online threats come in the form of hacking. Many Internet users employ some form of antivirus software and firewalls to protect their sensitive information from theft through computer viruses and malicious programs known as malware. However, with consistently changing and evolving technology, hackers often manage to find ways around these safeguards, and antivirus software and firewalls require frequent updates. Many forms of viruses record users’ keystrokes, which could eventually record their personal information. Spyware is a common form of software used to gather users’ information without their knowledge. To monitor users’ movements online, hackers typically install these programs covertly, so users are unaware that their system has been invaded.
A form of computer malware program that grew increasingly popular among hackers during the 1990s was known as a Trojan horse. These programs usually acted as undetected gateways into users’ computers. Hackers could execute a Trojan horse to perform a number of malicious tasks, including taking control of the computer, corrupting and stealing data, or simply crashing the computer. Another form of malware program similar to a Trojan horse is a computer worm, which replicates itself and spreads to other users via a computer network.
Due to the variables and technology involved, it has remained difficult to find a way to guarantee total safety when browsing the web. However, as the Internet is a necessary tool, efforts will continue to be made to curb cybercrime and protect users.
Bibliography
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