Cyber Safety Solutions & Educational Resources

The Daily Telegraph

The social media giant also argues that having a public account­ is “part of the fun”.

It has come under fire from cyber safety experts over its “parents’ guide to Instagram” which claims that kids who don’t have Instagram can “risk social marginalisation”.

Best Enemies director Ross Bark, who runs cyber-safety courses in schools, said it was “ridiculous” to suggest children were going to experience “social marginalisation” purely for not being on the app.

He said that anyone under 18 on the app should have a private account and children under 13 “should definitely not” be on Instagram.

“Social marginalisation sounds like a term that has come out of a marketing manager’s mouth … it sounds like a young person will be on the fringes of society if they are not on Instagram which is a silly suggestion,” Mr Bark said.

Read the full article in The Daily Telegraph here

The Daily Telegraph

KIDS who play video games are being encouraged to take caffeine-loaded “supplements” to boost their reaction times and help them stay up all night playing.

Best Enemies director Ross Bark, who runs cyber-safety courses in NSW schools, said “gaming supplements” were a growing problem parents needed to be aware of.

“Schools are having issues with students crashing in class after spending all night playing games,” Mr Bark said.

“It can have a real impact on their school work, their relationships and mental health. I think one of the issues is with teenager boys in particularly. They don’t see taking large amount of caffeine as a serious thing or something that carries health risks.”

Read the full article in The Daily Telegraph here

The Daily Telegraph

POPULAR video games such as Fortnite and Minecraft are being used to harvest children’s personal data by web fiends who flog it to anyone willing to stump up the cash.

Cyber-safety expert Ross Bark said crooks could use a child’s username and password for a gaming site like Fortnite to extract more information including phone numbers, credit card details, dates of birth and home addresses.

“Websites like Fortnite ask users to hand over a lot of personal information, which is very valuable to criminals,” Mr Bark said. “The account details would usually be purchased in bulk by the hundreds.”

Read the full article in The Daily Telegraph here

The TODAY Show – Channel 9

Here’s a frightening number for you – 72 million pieces of data on average are being collected from a child before they turn 13. What can parents do to keep their children’s private information safe?

Watch Ross Bark’s interview on The TODAY Show to see how we all need to be careful about the information we share online.

The Daily Telegraph

Anti-bullying charities are using a powerful parliamentary inquiry to call for a criminalisation of trolling — including giving child cyber-bullies a social media order (SMO) that would ban them from contacting their victims and using sites such as Facebook and Instagram.

It comes after 14-year-old Amy “Dolly” Everett took her own life on January 3 after being targeted by bullies online.

Cyber-safety expert Ross Bark, who runs education courses across NSW through his company Best Enemies, agreed the creation of an “SMO” would be helpful.

“It would be useful to be able to ban offenders from Facebook, Instagram and social media but it would need to be coupled with education so they can actually learn the very real effect they are having on their victims,” Mr Bark said.

Read the full article in The Daily Telegraph here

The summer holidays are peak internet season for families – but parents have been warned about a trend of violent, graphic cartoons specifically designed to target children.

The cartoons feature beloved children’s characters such as Peppa Pig, Spider-Man and Elsa from Frozen, but feature gruesome acts including murder, cannibalism and pornography.

“Your child could be viewing the Peppa Pig video which could be a proper video, and in one second they could be watching something completely inappropriate, which they think is the same thing,” Cyber Expert Ross Bark told A Current Affair.

Watch the full story from last weeks A Current Affair.

A Current Affair – Channel 9

Image-based abuse is a growing problem, particularly for young people! Tough new laws now protect victims if their intimate photos are shared online.

 

The Daily Telegraph

PRIMARY school students making the transition to high school need to be given extra support from teachers and parents to stop episodes of anxiety and depression being triggered by the upheaval.

Best Enemies Education runs programs across NSW helping children make the switch from primary to high school.

“Students face a lot of anxiety about this time period which can spiral into more serious issues.  In primary school they’ve developed an established group of friends and understand how they fit into those groups, so the change can be overwhelming for a young ­person.” Ross Bark from Best Enemies Education said.

Read the full article in The Daily Telegraph here

The Daily Telegraph

CHILDREN as young as 12 are now becoming victims of “upskirting” and “downblousing” from their own peers in a sick new craze inspired by twisted online video “pranks”.

Cyber safety expert Ross Bark, who teaches courses across NSW schools, said upskirting was a growing issue.

“There is a very twisted genre of YouTube videos that are teaching children highly inappropriate behaviour,” he said.

Read the full article in The Daily Telegraph here

EXPERTS have warned of the shocking tactics sex predators employ in order to lure unsuspecting child victims, including infiltrating popular mobile apps.