A recent threat has cropped up in our cyberspace, its not the usual hacking or stealing of data kind but a more sinister one that spooks intended targets into doing physical harm to themselves, especially children. You’ve heard about the Momo ‘challenge? The weird/scary looking character that first appeared in Whatsapp a few years back is making a comeback in the internet and causing hysteria and panic.
The wicked creators of the Momo challenge meant this to be a prank or sort as there is no evidence of financial gain behind this purpose. It is not a genuine cyber threat in terms of infecting or corrupting devices or seeking to steal, however, it is a malicious joke intending to shock and unsettle and, as the craze gathers momentum and media hype increases, more people are going to be tempted to scare their friends or, more worryingly, use the meme to harass and intimidate.
Children became the most culpable targets due to their innocence, for those who have never known a world without internet, navigate the online world at super speed, children are often the first to be exposed to new internet culture content as they seek it out and share it more prolifically. Parents are the ones who should be mindful on what their children are doing on the internet, no parent will let their 5 year old wander around in the city by themselves, the internet can be a more dangerous place- yet they are unmonitored when on the world wide web. It is always good practice to not wait until your child has uncovered anything sinister to talk to them the basics of internet safety, regular discussion and alerting on the threats can be help them when such things emerge. David Emm Principal Security Researcher at Kaspersky, asserts that constant conversations will make them aware of how to be safe online. Also agree which sites are appropriate for them and ensure they understand the reasoning behind this. They also need to know that they can – and should – confide in a trusted adult if they experience something upsetting whilst online.
Just like in the real world we advice our children not to accept candy from a stranger, we must ensure they practice similar traits online, they need to know that they should not ‘friend’ anyone online they don’t know or add unknown numbers to their contacts. Activate safety settings – settings such as auto-play should be disabled and parental controls can be installed to help prevent children from viewing inappropriate content. Make use of the mute, block and report features – This will protect them from a lot of harmful content.
