Daily Safeguarding Update

Zoom release new security feature to stop ‘Zoombombing’

Zoom will now let you temporarily pause meetings so you can kick out “Zoombombers” or disruptive individuals, the company announced in a blog post
As Zoom usage skyrocketed during the pandemic, pranksters and hackers found ways to invade Zoom calls and display shocking videos and disruptive content, a practice that has become known as “Zoombombing”
Zoom’s new security feature allows users to suspend a meeting to block harmful content from being shown and also report the Zoombomber to Zoom
To suspend a meeting, click the Security icon while on a call and then click “Suspend Participant Activities.” When you do, all video, audio, in-meeting chat, annotations, screen sharing, and recording will be suspended and all breakout rooms will end, which should shut down the Zoombomber’s activity

Video-game-maker Capcom has warned a ransomware attack might have compromised gamers’ personal information
Up to 350,000 people could be affected, it said, and some of its own financial information had been stolen
The Japanese developer is best known for franchises such as Resident Evil, Street Fighter, and Monster Hunter
A week-and-a-half earlier, it had said there was no indication customer information had been accessed

Home Office figures show a dramatic rise in the number of under-18s referred to the government’s counter-terrorism programme Channel over concerns about their possible involvement with the far-right
A total of 682 children were referred for this reason in 2017-18, compared with 131 in 2014-15 – a more than five-fold increase, according to figures obtained through a freedom of information request
The figures include 24 children under the age of 10
A former neo-Nazi, who runs a group which helps people leave far-right organisations, told Sky News that video games and extremist content on social media were being used to recruit children

“County lines” gangs could be using children in care across North Wales to distribute drugs to get around lockdown restrictions, it is claimed
The urban gangs use young people to expand their markets for drugs like cocaine and heroin into smaller towns
But research for the North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner suggests fewer children are being sent from larger cities
There are also claims some councils have “their heads in the sand”
But the board representing councils, police and probation said it had not been invited to take part in the study

The coronavirus pandemic could be fuelling an increase in the number of children moving out of full-time schooling, town hall bosses warn
The Local Government Association says some areas have seen significant rises in registrations for home schooling
It comes after separate LGA analysis for 2018-19 suggested between 250,000 and a million children in England were out of full-time school
The government says school is the best place for the majority of children
A lack of oversight on how and why pupils leave, and where they end up, makes tracking them difficult
There are no official figures for children who are missing out on school, and the issue has been a challenge for successive education departments, which do not track it centrally