Panda Security Insight

Over the last few days we have been presenting in Spain the results of a survey we carried out from January to May asking parents (with children up to 18 years old) and teenagers-youngsters (up to 20 years old) about their Internet browsing habits. This study is part of a campaign we have been carrying out in various countries over the last two years.

Once again, and despite the awareness and education campaigns conducted by security companies and other entities, the study has revealed some surprising facts:

• 1 in 3 teenagers has met a stranger on the Internet, even though 30% consider it dangerous.
• 99% of young people in the survey use some social networking site or some kind or direct communication system on the Internet. Only 47% of parents are aware that their children visit these websites, and in many cases they don’t know exactly which ones they are or what their children’s profiles are.
• There is a general sense of security among parents (72% of them claim to know how to stay protected) and children (83% of them say they feel safe on the Web). Only 44% of children in the survey say they have received information about how to use the Internet safely. This contradicts parents’ responses, as 79% of them say they have discussed Internet security issues with their children.
• Parents and children agree that the Internet’s greatest dangers are contact from strangers, followed by viruses and data theft.

Even though some months have passed since we released these videos, they are still perfectly valid to illustrate the reality we are facing http://vimeo.com/3721066 and http://vimeo.com/3722519

The debate is mainly focused on the way social networking sites are used, and their risks. In my opinion it is a mistake to think of the Internet as something “evil”. The Internet is a fantastic tool that opens up a world of possibilities, and as such there is no doubt that it will gradually become a more extensive part of our lives. Nevertheless it is important to take some basic precautions when using it. Social networking sites are fun and a great way of socializing and staying in touch with people. However, we cannot ignore the fact that they can also pose a series of threats:

• Risks and threats to data privacy and integrity. This greatly depends on the security awareness and education of minors (and adults as well).
• Security flaws:  The hackers’ favorite target to spread their creations and to attack databases and exploit platform vulnerabilities to get private data and take advantage of it.
• Identity theft.
• Sometimes we forget the fact that we are actually exposing our private lives on the Web: personal information revealed, online or offline targeted attacks (E.g. FourSquare) or theft of data for distribution (E.g. Pictures of celebrities that sometimes end up in the media).

As security awareness increases the situation will improve. From Panda and all the security forums we participate in we will keep asking for collaboration from both private and public institutions to inform about the risks (and benefits) of these tools. 

Luckily, the new generations are growing up “digital”. They have made the use of computers part of their everyday lives so it shouldn’t be difficult to incorporate computer security issues into their learning processes. It is just a question of all parties involved -parents, teachers, companies and public institutions- taking the issue seriously.  It is worth for them… and for us who are responsible for their education and protection.

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