Online trends and risks
Hijacking Instant Messaging Accounts:
Over the last year, reports to Cybertip.ca of sexual offenders hijacking children's Instant Messaging (IM) accounts have doubled. Once the account is hijacked, the child is then coerced into sending sexually explicit pictures of themselves with the promise of regaining control of their account. An offender can take control of a child's account by guessing a weak password (one that is easy to deduce), by gathering information through conversations with the child that may help them answer a password reset question, or by using a more elaborate scheme involving setting up a fake website and tricking the child into giving up their IM login and password.
Remote Access Trojans:
One of the most concerning trends Cybertip.ca has been seeing is the use of remote access Trojans to invade both a person's computer and privacy without leaving a trace. Trojans are viruses usually attached to an email, file, or embedded on a website that are used to gain control of a person's computer without their knowledge. If a webcam is attached to the infected computer, the offender can easily capture everything that goes on within the camera's view. Ensure that you have up-to-date anti-virus software installed on your computer.
Cell Phones:
While cell phones are incredibly popular with youth, the ability to communicate on the move, to take photographs and videos, and to view content instantaneously raises some very real issues surrounding safety. Media and reports to Cybertip.ca indicate that some adolescents are engaging in high-risk behaviour, such as sending sexually suggestive, partially clothed or nude images or videos of themselves to someone else via text messaging (known as 'sexting'). Adolescent's may not realize that photos or videos they send can be reproduced, altered, posted online or sent to others without their permission, and that once a photo or video is sent, they have no control over where it goes. Also, with cell phones and texting, youth may be exposed to sexually explicit content.
Social Networking Sites:
Social networking sites have created an unprecedented ease in communication - children and youth can produce and distribute their own content, link to their peers, and establish a powerful network for sharing information with very little effort. Adolescents are particularly drawn to this environment as they can voice their opinions and express their independence.
But these sites can also lend themselves to cyber-bullying, cases of users impersonating other children or teachers, and the posting of embarrassing pictures and defamatory content. Far more disturbing, however, is the fact that such forums are frequented by sexual offenders. Given the growing popularity of these sites and the overall lack of monitoring, it is expected that social networking sites will continue to figure prominently in future Internet-related child sexual abuse cases.
Chatbots:
Another emerging trend relating to Instant Messaging (IM) and chat room technologies is chatbots (or chatterbots). These are programs that are setup to engage and respond to individuals through these technologies and appear as though they are human. There are a variety of chatbots present online at the moment. Some are created for entertainment or educational purposes, however, there are a number of bots created for malicious purposes. Chatbots can be used to direct individuals to particular websites with adult or harmful material. They may also be used to capture and track personal information from individuals responding to them.
Technology and Intimate Relationships:
Relationships are an integral part of an adolescent's life. But recent studies have found that technology (including texting, emailing, Instant Messaging (IM), and social networking sites) has changed the face and the pace of how intimate relationships evolve in the teen world. From sexually suggestive images sent via cell phones being seen by teens as a new form of "relationship currency" (see Cell phone safety) to breaking up with partners on social networking sites, intimate relationships have become a whole new terrain for teens to navigate.