14 DAY TRIAL // Since kids' online security is one of our main concerns, authorities from all over the world analyze and think about new methods that would improve security measures and stop web threats from reaching the youth population. Virginia is now the first state that will introduce mandatory online security lessons in all schools in the state, although Texas and Illinois have already started teaching these courses to interested pupils.
Such a law is extremely important especially when we have a growing up popularity of social networks, a different side of the Internet which is especially populated by young users, teenagers and kids. But what's worse is that these websites are often visited by sex offenders, pedophiles and dangerous people in general.
Sure, introducing a law that makes online security lessons mandatory in the schools of a certain country doesn't necessarily mean that online threats will be permanently eradicated, but at least kids and teenagers have the chance to be informed on the latest threats when connected to the web.
According to Fox News, the directors of the schools based in Virginia have already started integrating online security lessons in their course schedules. Moreover, some of them had made similar activities before, when teachers tried to educate parents and discuss about the most important online threats.
MySpace and Facebook, two of the most popular social networks on the Internet and heavily populated by young users, implemented a couple of security measures but it seems like more efforts are needed anytime soon. Authorities have criticized the lack of security features on online social networks as lots of consumers were vulnerable and got their information exposed on the web. Moreover, there were cases when registered members could be found using public search engines which puts identity theft on the first place when it comes to online threats.