Nearly 9 Million Attempts to Access Child Sexual Abuse Online Material in Last month
- According to the Internet Watch Foundation, there were 8.8 million attempts to access child sexual abuse material online in the last month.
- The IWF maintains a list of child sexual abuse URLs that companies use to block and filter. Three companies that use the list helped to compile the data that revealed the 8.8m UK attempts to access child sexual abuse imagery on URLs in April.
- These figures come as law enforcement and child protection agencies issue start warnings that paedophiles are seeking to take advantage of the pandemic.
Security Flaws Found in Tracing App
- Several major security flaws have been highlighted in the governments COVID-19 tracing app after trials on the Isle of Wight.
- GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said it was aware of most of the issues raised and is in the process of addressing them.
- Security concerns are linked to the app’s use of a central server. Thinking Cybersecurity chief executive Dr Vanessa Teague said “a decentralised solution wouldn’t have a central server with the recent face-to-face contacts of every infected person, so there’s a much lower risk of that database being leaked or abused.”
Research Shows Young People worried about Coronavirus
- Research conducted by Beatfreeks, an organisation which researches youth trends in the UK has highlighted that 65% of young people surveyed are concerned for their mental health because of COVID-19.
- Dr. Andrew Mycock, a lecturer from the University of Huddersfield who helped analyse the data said the pandemic will have a long-lasting effect on young people.
- The research has also found that young people don’t feel secure getting their information and news from the internet and now are now using more traditional media outlets.
Increase in Demand for Food Parcels
- The number of charities and community groups seeking food to help feed the UK’s hungry has tripled since the coronavirus pandemic started.
- FareShare has added 500 charities to its waiting list, of which 80% are trying to deliver food parcels to vulnerable families.
- Prior to the Coronavirus pandemic, there was a rise in demand of 26% in the last 12 months.
Government Plan to Use Codewords to Help Victims of Domestic Abuse
- New government plans could include given victims of domestic abuse a codeword to alert people if they are in danger
- Retail workers would be trained to identify key words and alert relevant agencies
- The Home office said it is working on the codeword scheme with various groups including the National Pharmacy Association, the British Retail Consortium, and domestic abuse charities.
- This news comes amid a massive increase in domestic violence during the lockdown.
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