The Stay Safe Online Blog

Jul 23, 2010 10:43am

In recent weeks, unfair SLAPP lawsuits — in which businesses sue individuals for posting critical comments on consumer review websites — have taken center stage. The latest news is that one woman is being sued by a local Chicago concrete company for complaining about their service online. Now more than ever, it's critical that these suits — designed to intimidate and censor critics through costly legal action — be put to an end.

Jun 9, 2010 3:41pm

After a year of meetings and deliberations, the Online Safety and Technology Working Group sent to Congress the report Youth Safety on a Living Internet: Report of the Online Safety and Technology Working Group.

Jun 4, 2010 6:40pm

An astounding 70% (2008 survey by Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates) of US consumers consult reviews or consumer ratings before making purchases. Whether you're buying a new digital camera, finding a new dentist, or researching an online pharmacy, user reviews can be a powerful tool to make better choices about which products and services to buy and from whom. However, reviews also have pitfalls. Below are four tips to safely and effectively use online reviews.

May 25, 2010 4:39pm

President Barack Obama has said that America faces “few more urgent challenges than preparing our children to compete in a global economy.” Being able to understand and make use of the world's vast telecommunications infrastructure is certainly part of that preparation. So it was no surprise when the White House issued its Cyberspace Policy Review last May that the document contained a call for the nation to “initiate a K-12 cybersecurity education program for digital safety, ethics, and security; expand university curricula; and set the conditions to create a competent workforce for the digital age.”

May 8, 2010 1:37pm

Critical to our success in protecting our digital assets is ensuring that young people consider and seek careers in cybersecurity. We need to build out our math and science curriculum in the K-12 years to ensure that high school graduates have the basic knowledge to build in college.

May 5, 2010 10:36am

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed a sweeping new anti-bullying bill today that was developed in the wake of the suicide of Phoebe Prince, 15, who was the subject of continuous victimization at South Hadley High School. Nine students have been arrested in the case and await their fate in the criminal justice system.

Mar 22, 2010 6:34pm

Sexting, the sending of explicit photos via text message or email, is but the latest example of how new technologies can cause unintended social issues and leave our institutions—schools and law enforcement in this case—without adequate or reasonable policies to respond.

Feb 25, 2010 10:33am

Today, the National Cyber Security Alliance released the 2010 State of Cyberethics, Cybersafety, and Cybersecurity Curriculum in the U.S., which explores teacher, school administrator, and school technology coordinator attitudes toward teaching cyber education topics, what is actually being taught in classrooms, and the level of professional development teachers are receiving in order to teach these topics.

Feb 17, 2010 10:31am

A recent study, Online Reputation in a Connected World by Cross-Tab Marketing Research on behalf of Microsoft (disclaimer Microsoft is an NCSA sponsoring company) finds that more and more companies are conducting online research into a candidate's reputation. Of the U.S. recruiters (study also surveyed recruiters in other countries) and HR professionals surveyed, 70% say they have rejected candidates based on information they found online.

Jan 4, 2010 2:31pm

What does stalking have to with cybersecurity? Quite a bit.