MySecureCyberspace Provides Online Resource For Parents Concerned About Children’s Cybersafety

October 20, 2006
Chriss Swaney
(412) 268-5776

PITTSBURGH—Whether their children are shopping, chatting or doing homework online, parents are increasingly on edge about Web safety.

“A 2006 survey conducted by Carnegie Mellon University and marketing research firm Campos Inc. found that 97 percent of the 500 Allegheny County residents interviewed not only wanted to know more about cybersafety, but they want simpler tools to monitor their child’s online activities,” said Dena Haritos Tsamitis, head of the Information Networking Institute (INI) and director of education, training and outreach for Carnegie Mellon Cylab.

The survey also reported that half of the parents and guardians preferred cybersafe tutorials be offered online. Carnegie Mellon researchers have created the MySecureCyberspace portal to help the public better understand the dangers of surfing the Web. The portal (www.mysecurecyberspace.com) offers a cyberencyclopedia of information and tools to combat cyberbullying, identity theft and the dangers of online predators.

Barb Mitchell, a retired schoolteacher from Wilkins Township, said she constantly monitors her grandson’s online activity. “He’s only a third-grader now, but I’m very nervous about all the cyberdangers lurking out there as he gets older and more proficient with his computer,” she said.

Today, more than 89 percent of children are social networking online, while less than 34 percent of their parents are aware of these risky activities, according to a recent report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. The Carnegie Mellon survey revealed that only 16.4 percent of parents reported that their children were engaging in social networking online.

“We think that is a very low number, and it could be indicative of the parents’ lack of knowledge in this area,” Tsamitis said. Instant messaging and chat room activities were perceived to be among the most risky of cyberactivities, the Carnegie Mellon study said. And only about a third of the Carnegie Mellon respondents felt their home computer was safe from online threats.

Researchers report that ambiguity may be an indication of some respondents’ uncertainty about assessing how safe or unsafe their home computer is from these threats. Concerns about the safety of minors, in particular, have exposed the need for more effective ways to teach cyberawareness.

“I simply zapped our children’s instant-messaging capabilities; we don’t have it anymore,” said Robert Dempsey of Portersville, Pa. “We have our computer in the living room and we limit time spent on it,” he said. But not all families are as Internet-savvy as the Mitchells and Dempseys.

To help these other families, Carnegie Mellon has partnered with i-SAFE America, a nonprofit foundation focused on making students cybersafe, to expand outreach of “Carnegie Cadets in the MySecureCyberspace Game.” In the game, cartoon figures resembling superheroes, called the Carnegie Cadets, help children learn about the dangers of Internet viruses and cybercriminals.

Complementing the game for children, the MySecureCyberspace portal equips home users with customized information to help them secure their part of cyberspace.

“We just began some field-testing of our game with fifth-graders at the Fox Chapel Area School District,” Tsamitis said. “The game is used as a resource to educate teachers, parents and general home users.”

About the Information Networking Institute and Carnegie Mellon Cylab: Carnegie Mellon’s Information Networking Institute (INI) is the university’s premier program for information networking and information security. The INI was established by Carnegie Mellon in 1989 as the nation’s first research and education center devoted to information technology. As an integral department of the College of Engineering and a cooperative endeavor of the schools of computer science, business and public policy, the INI focuses on professional degree programs that integrate the technologies, economics and policies of global and secure communication networks. INI is the education partner of Carnegie Mellon CyLab, a university-wide, multidisciplinary initiative involving more than 200 faculty, students and staff. Carnegie Mellon CyLab is a bold and visionary effort aimed at creating a public-private partnership to develop new technologies for measurable, available, secure, trustworthy, and sustainable computing and communication systems, and to educate individuals at all levels.