Awareness drive on cyber security, cyber-bullying

Manama : Kaspersky Lab and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) yesterday announced the beginning of a series of roadshows to spread awareness among students about the threat of cyber-security and cyber-bullying. The roadshows will take place in schools across Bahrain and is aimed at raising awareness about the threats that await children on the Internet and effective ways to respond to them. Among the main threats to be addressed are cyber-bullying, inordinate disclosure of personal information and general rules of online behaviour.

According to a survey conducted by The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, about 38% of young people in Bahrain have faced cyberbullying, which represents the biggest cyber threat to young people in the region. The second most worrying problem is the danger associated with meeting strangers online. The percentage of such encounters has significantly dropped, however it remains at 16%.

“There has never been a more important time to truly educate children about online safety and the dangers of the online world than now.” said TRA Senior Advisor of Consumer Affairs Development, Sheikh Abdulla Bin Humood Al Khalifa. “Our connected lifestyles have given room for a lot of dangers out there, and we are very happy to collaborate with Kaspersky Lab and bring the Safe Kids cybersecurity roadshow to children across schools in Bahrain. Cyberbullying in particular comes with dangerous and far-reaching implications which could impact our children’s academic performances and overall well-being. Children are the future of our society. Empowering them and giving them the intellectual tools to survive in a digital world is our prime responsibility.” he said.

Amir Kanaan, Managing Director in the Middle East, Turkey and South Africa at Kaspersky Lab, said “Children’s safety is one of the key priorities of Kaspersky Lab as a cybersecurity company. Firstly, because family well-being is something everyone is concerned about, regardless of status and origin. And secondly, only by instilling the basic principles of safe behavior online in the children of today we can make the Internet of tomorrow safer — and this, of course, is one of the main goals of our company. It is almost impossible to reach this goal without the support of governments and public organizations, so we are very glad and grateful to TRA for supporting our initiative”.

Maria Namestnikova, Children’s online safety expert at Kaspersky Lab said: “Online communication may seem like a safe environment, as a certain distance is maintained between both sides. But, this environment has now reached such a scale and diversity, that its dangers are almost identical to those of the real world — sometimes it is not entirely clear which world is  more real.”