Information and communication technology has become an integral part of our day-to-day life. It has just transformed the way we communicate, make friends, share updates, play games, and do shopping and so on. The technology has impacted most aspects of our day-to-day life.
Our new generation is getting exposure to cyber space at a very young age. More and more children invest time online to play games, make friends, and use social networking sites and so on. In fact with smart phones access to social networking, online games, shopping, etc. has increased significantly. The cyber space connects us virtually with crores of online users from across the globe. With increasing use of cyber space, cyber crimes are also increasing rapidly.
Children are highly vulnerable as they are exposed to cyber space with limited understanding of cyber threats and safeguards. Children are in experimental age group. They like to experiment, learn new things and use new technologies. While experimenting is a good way to learn, it is equally important that proper guidance is provided to children so that they can protect themselves from adverse impact of cyber technology.
This handbook is for children above 13 years of age. It can be used by younger students as well to understand the cyber world
better and prepare themselves to be responsible and careful cyber citizens of future. The purpose of this handbook is to provide an overview of various cyber threats that can impact children and discuss safeguards that can help in preventing the cybercrimes.
The first and second chapters of the handbook provides an insight to children on why cyber security is a concern and what are different types of cybercrimes that can impact us. The third chapter of the handbook talks about cyberbullying and how it can impact children. It further details out the key safeguards that may help children to protect themselves against cyberbullying and ways to deal with cyberbullying.
The fourth chapter of the handbook covers cyber grooming and its impact on the children. It also provides details about various safeguards that can be adopted by children to protect themselves from cyber grooming. The fifth chapter talks about cyber threats related to online gaming and safety tips that can help children in safeguarding themselves against such cyber threats. Emails are used commonly by cybercriminals. The sixth chapter provides an overview of how cybercriminals can trigger cybercrimes using emails and safety tips that may help children in using emails securely.
Cyber technology has also transformed the way we do financial transactions. More and more people are using online platforms for shopping, transferring money and other financial transactions. Moreover, efforts are being made to facilitate financial education in schools in order to make students ready for future. In view of increasing cybercrimes related to financial frauds, chapter seventh of the handbook provides an overview to children on cyber threats related to online financial transactions and how to safeguard ourselves against such threats. The last chapter of the handbook covers cyber threats related to social networking and how to safeguards against such threats.
The handbook shall help students to learn about cyber threats and ways how they can protect themselves. As a change agent, students are expected to share their learning with their peers and parents and contribute in making cyber space safer.
