The Security Catalyst

Hurray to Rosalind Wiseman and Parade magazine for their article today on Cyberbullies. (See it in print or online here: http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2007/edition_02-25-2007/Cyberbullying.)  They understand the problem and they’re spreading the word.  Security Professionals need to do the same.

Cyberbullying has plagued us for years, but little has been done because most parents didn’t understand the technology and the ramifications.  Also, Cyberpreditors and inappropriate content have taken center stage as the top concerns of parents.  That is now changing.  Articles in national magazines like Parade, along with Internet sites like Netbullies (http://www.netbullies.com/), i_Safe (http://www.isafe.org/), and WiredKids (http://www.wiredkids.org/wiredkids_org.html) help parents, kids and educators understand the problem.  They also provide simple solutions that reduce the problem (bullying can never fully be eliminated.) 

The Internet provides a unique challenge for confronting and preventing bullying: anonymity.  Unlike bullying in person, cyberbullying can be done from a distance under the safety umbrella of anonymity.  Bullies are cowards and like to hide; the Internet only enables this behavior.  Unless the bully makes a mistake and reveals his/her identity, there may not be much that can be done.  Like the rule on the playground: ignoring the bully may make him or her stop. 

To help you educate yourself and others, here are the tips from the Parade article:
- Use technology as an opportunity to reinforce your family values. If you buy a cell phone or computer for your child, attach rules for appropriate use and consequences if these rules are broken.
- Move the computer out of your child’s bedroom and into the family room.
- Teach your child not to share passwords.
- Install monitoring and filtering software. Find free downloads at k9webprotection.com and safefamilies.org.
- Save and print out any evidence if your child is cyberbullied. Decide together to whom you should go for additional assistance.

Join the discussion on the SecurityCatalyst Community: http://community.securitycatalyst.com/forums/index.php/topic,114.0.html

By working together, we all become stronger.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!