These are worrying times for all of us. You only have to watch the adverts on television to see how invasive technology has become. Every one of them either has someone using a device in them or refers you to a website for more information. This growing reliance upon technology in our daily lives leaves us more open to the threat of some form of cyber attack and for many that threat has turned into reality.
It’s hard enough to keep on top of cyber security when you are an adult with all of your faculties intact yet it is even harder for those who have grown up without ever using information technology and for those who are too young to have ever known anything different.
In this event it is the latter group that we are considering. Children and young people have enormous access to technology and are facing an array of rising threats, such as hacking social media accounts, blackmailing, revenge porn, in-game purchases and many more. There are some basic security issues that they, their parents or guardians should all be aware of. Cyber hygiene for children and young people has never been a more important issue.
The opening speaker, Abi Moffat from the Enterprise Academy, will ask ‘What are the issues facing children and young people online?’ and this will be followed by Mimi Theobald, graduate of the University of St Andrews in International Relations, discussing ‘Are children and young people particularly vulnerable to cyber threat?’. Sam Roberts, commercial contracts lawyer specialising in IT/tech contracts at Muckle LLP, will then bring us up to date with some new legislation in this area ‘Children’s Code (Age Appropriate Design Code).
The presentations will be followed by a round table discussion questioning ‘Can children and young people do more to help themselves? What is the role of big tech? Is the industry doing enough to protect vulnerable groups? All of the speakers will be involved in the discussion which will be chaired by Dawn Dunn, Innovation Manager at Dynamo North East.
This will be an online event only. Tickets are free and available from here.
I hope to see you there!
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 