LAST week, an incident of an alleged cyber "hijacking" of an online class of a private school occurred and made rounds in the news and a popular public affairs program. According to the students who shared their experience about the incident, while they were having their online class using Google Classroom, several attempts to join the said online meeting were popping up. The intruders, who said they were transferees, were eventually admitted to the said virtual classroom by the teacher.
After their request to join the online class was approved by the teacher, the culprits began disturbing the class with some lewd comments before the major boo-boo happened. Suddenly, one of the hijackers opened his video showing his nude body which shocked most of the students who were part of the said class. This incident, which caused shock and trauma not just among the students but also their parents. To think that they are paying a hefty amount for tuition fees, it is a must for the school to ensure that the conduct of video conferencing sessions and online classes must be safe and secure against these kinds of cyber threats.
To provide safeguards against these malicious and vicious minds, the Cybercrime Office of the Department of Justice on September 22, 2020 issued a public advisory on the conduct of online classes using video conferencing services. Based on the said advisory, the following reminders are given to the school administrators and teachers:
1. "Never share the meeting room credentials both the meeting ID and password to the public." Avoid posting this information on social media posts and chats as the cybercriminals are just lurking around the internet for these types of information.
2. Set meeting configurations following strict protocols on joining the meeting, setting a convention for the names of the participants, muting and turning off videos, sending and or receiving of files, sharing of screens, among others.
3. "Never leave students alone in the virtual classroom."
4. Always use the updated version of the app or software and install the necessary cybersecurity measures such as anti-virus software.
Aside from these guidelines for the schools, the Cybercrime Office also gave reminders to parents to be highly involved and be proactive in guiding their children while they are participating in online classes. The advisory also reminds parents and children of the concepts of digital literacy and digital citizenship. Digital literacy refers to "the ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills." Digital citizenship on the other hand refers to "the norms of appropriate and responsible behavior with regard to technology use."
Lastly, the DOJ Cybercrime Office also advised the public to report any incidents that involve cyber threats and online hackings to the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group, NBI Cybercrime Division, and the DOJ Office of Cybercrime.
As I have written in my June 23, 2020 column:
It seems that the world we live in has become more and more dangerous as time passes by. If we were only worried about being physically secure decades ago, now we also have to worry about our safety in the ever-pervasive cyber world. With the advent of the new technology brought by the internet, various cyber crimes such as identity theft, cyberbullying, online fraud, hacking, and a lot more have emerged and have confronted the netizens.
In the absence of foolproof laws and mechanisms to monitor, control, and also apprehend violators of these new-age offenses, it is still best to take precautions and avoid falling prey to these crimes. Ignorance and indifference are not excuses for anyone's lack of guidance and shortcomings in terms of providing safety and security for our children in all aspects possible.