Click, Caution, Protect: Cyber Awareness Month 2025 Warns of Rising Online Threats to Minors

Image Source: Instagram

Cyber Awareness Month 2025 brings urgent attention to the surge in online risks faced by minors, with high-profile revelations—such as Akshay Kumar’s account of his daughter’s cyberbullying—fueling debate. Experts and law enforcement call for a blend of parental vigilance, digital literacy, and stricter tech regulation to combat cyberbullying, grooming, sextortion, and scams targeting children.

Key Highlights: Protecting Minors in a Digital Age

Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar’s candid revelation about his daughter’s cyberbullying during an online game at the Cyber Awareness Month inaugural event has intensified public focus on kids’ vulnerability in virtual spaces. Cybercrimes now span social media harassment, explicit demands, identity theft, and online exploitation—often progressing from seemingly harmless chats to attempts at grooming or sextortion.

National Crime Records Bureau data shows a 60% spike in cybercrimes against Indian children in three years, echoing global Interpol and UNICEF reports that minors aged 10–16 are increasingly targeted via gaming apps, social media, and chat forums. AI is also being misused for deepfake scams and synthetic blackmail.

Experts like Dr. Prashant Mali stress that anonymity and competitive pressure in gaming lower children’s caution, making them ripe for manipulation or fraud. Preventive steps must include parental awareness (enabled child safety modes, open conversations), school-based digital hygiene, and strong content moderation by platforms.

Security advocacy groups recommend technical measures—privacy settings, disabling location services, robust passwords, two-factor authentication, and app-based controls—to limit unsolicited interactions. Many experts also urge parents to keep devices in shared spaces, monitor friend lists, and review chats or downloads.

Regulatory updates such as India’s IT Rules 2021 and DPDPA 2023 empower stricter consent and age verification, but true protection depends on active collaboration between parents, educators, platforms, and children themselves.

Recent workshops have featured interactive games and sessions for kids to build digital confidence, spot red flags, and recognize manipulation, reinforcing that cyber hygiene must become as fundamental as traffic safety for kids today.

Sources: Free Press Journal, Mid-day, Ensign InfoSecurity, National Crime Records Bureau

Stay Ahead – Explore Now! Ctrl+Alt+Escape: Why Young Engineers Must Debug Their Obsession With Coding

STORIES YOU MAY LIKE

Image Source: Mint

Tata Group Breaks Tradition: N Chandrasekaran Secures Historic Third Term as Chairman

Image Source: Hindustan Times

From Snow to Shore: India’s Coolest Escapes to Warm Your Winter 2025

Image Source: Moneycontrol

Retire Early, But Plan Smart: How Much Corpus You Really Need in India

Image Source: Hindustan Times

Grace Meets Glam: Suhana Khan Wins Hearts with Her Sweet Gesture to Madhuri Dixit

Image Source: Irish Sun

From Brussels to Bollywood: EU Film Festival Screens Member States & Ukraine in India

Image Source: Swarajya

Foxconn’s Rs 15,000 Crore Bet on Tamil Nadu: A New Era for High-Tech Jobs

Image Source: Artechway

Gemini’s Nano Banana Gets Smarter: From Chat to Lens, AI Just Got an Upgrade

Top Searches

Suggestions

Click, Caution, Protect: Cyber Awareness Month 2025 Warns of Rising Online Threats to Minors

STORIES YOU MAY LIKE

Live Blogs

Top Stories

Click, Caution, Protect: Cyber Awareness Month 2025 Warns of Rising Online Threats to Minors

STORIES YOU MAY LIKE

Subscribe to receive the day's headlines from WOWNEWS 24X7 straight in your inbox

Live Blogs

Top Stories