Cyber safety body gains greater traction in Australian community
ThinkUKnow, an Australian “Internet safety program delivering interactive training to parents, carers and teachers through primary and secondary schools,” has been joined by Queensland Police Service, Western Australia Police and Neighbourhood Watch Australasia as policing partners on the eve of its fifth anniversary.
Marking the 11th international Safer Internet Day, the bodies signed a Memorandum of Understanding to join the ThinkUKnow cyber safety programme.
Australian Federal Police (AFP) Acting Deputy Commissioner Close Operational Support Tim Morris said the AFP was looking forward to working together on an important initiative.
“The AFP, together with our partner agencies, remain committed to ensure the safety of all Australian children online and making the internet a safer environment for our kids,” he said.
“I strongly encourage all parents and young people to visit the ThinkUKnow website on Safer Internet Day to gain valuable information and tips on how to stay in control and learn invaluable online safety skills.”
ThinkUKnow provides interactive education and training programs to parents, teachers and students throughout schools and organisations across Australia, having accommodated over 27,000 participants since its conception in 2009.
In an article on The Age, Mahesh Sharma said scams constantly adapt to changes in Internet use.
“The widespread adoption of social networking and online technologies is fundamentally changing what you need to do to stay safe from threats on the internet,” he said
“Increasingly, authorities – used to issuing scam alerts – are realising that just telling people to be more careful is not enough. They are now coordinating efforts to teach kids and adults the life skills to deal with dangerous situations in all corners of their lives – online and off.
“The [ThinkUKnow] campaign will now focus on equipping people with the skills to make the right decisions and judgments in any context – analogue or digital.”
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