Australians, including those from Brimbank, have been losing enthusiasm for parental control apps, exposing their children and themselves to cybersecurity threats.
According to cybersecurity company NordVPN, the download rate of the most popular parental control apps in Australia has gone down by almost 35 times
NordVPN warned that Infecting a whole home network with “dangerous malware does not require the skills of an experienced hacker. A child with a smart device can even do it by downloading an infected file which, through the router, can infect other devices connected to home Wi-Fi.”
Despite this, NordVPN research showed downloads of the most popular parental control and monitoring apps in Australia grew by less than two per cent during the first quarter of 2023, while during the same period last year, they saw 37 per cent growth.
NordVPN chief technology officer Marijus Briedis said “parents forget that malware epidemiology works similarly to a flu or the coronavirus”.
“…Even if you are careful and use protective measures, you still might get sick from your child who is not necessarily as cautious as you are,” he said.
“So while equipping your devices with cybersecurity solutions or trying to avoid malicious content and apps is a good first step, you should also track your children’s behaviour online and take other protective measures. Your home network is as secure as its most vulnerable part.”
Children are usually the most unprotected consumers, because parents tend to focus more on the security of their own devices, kids and tweens are also the ones who are most eager to click on colourful ads, open suspicious links, or download apps and games from untrusted sources, which often distribute cracked and infected software.
But if an infected device is connected to the home Wi-Fi, the scope of the problem might be even bigger. While a router is the central device in a home network, it’s also probably the most vulnerable because most people do not take the necessary steps to protect it from malware.
“The connection between a router and a device is like a two-way bridge: sophisticated malware from an infected device can spread to the Wi-Fi router and infect other devices connected to the home network,” said Mr Briedis.
“It can also stay in the router and collect data from any other device in the network or change router settings and redirect users to malicious websites. There are several steps internet users should take to protect their routers, like regularly updating the router’s firmware or renaming the service set identifier (SSID). Still, most importantly, you have to protect all of your connected devices, especially those used by children.”
While educating children about cybersecurity threats and cautious behaviour online is crucial to protect them and all family members from malware, experts also advise using technological solutions to minimize risks. For example, parental control apps do not only monitor messages, emails, or social media but also block websites with malicious content.
Antivirus and privacy protection solutions should also be considered.
