Spies in Your Stocking: Privacy, Smart Toys and the Internet of Things
This year, it may not just be Santa Claus who sees your kids when they're sleeping and knows when they're awake: one of the hottest trends this season is so-called "smart toys", which use the Internet to hold artificially intelligent conversations with kids while they play. Last year's Hello Barbie, one of the first to use this technology, was found to have a number of major security flaws -- including automatically connecting the mobile device to which it was tethered to any Wi-Fi network with "Barbie" in its name. Now two more toys, a doll called My Friend Cayla and the i-Que Intelligent Robot, have been found to collect data in ways that are far more worrying.
Promoting Ethical Online Behaviours with Your Kids
Most kids live as much of their lives online as they do offline. But on the Internet there are lots of moral and ethical choices that don’t have to be made offline. These tips lay out ways you can help your children develop a moral compass to guide them through those choices.
On The Loose: A Guide to Life Online For Post-Secondary Students
On the Loose: A Guide to Online Life for Post-Secondary Students supports young adults who are experiencing both new freedoms and challenges in their post- secondary life.
Cyber Security Consumer Tip Sheet: Socializing and interacting online
For most of us, the Internet has become an indispensable part of our social lives: we use it to keep up with old friends, keep in touch with our families and meet new people. Unfortunately, not all online interactions are as positive as these. This tip sheet will explain some of the issues we face when we socialize online and provide tips for dealing with them.
DigitalSmarts
Digital literacy is a vital tool for education, employment and economic participation, civic engagement, and even health and wellness. It reinforces existing inequalities based on socioeconomic status, ethnicity, education, immigration status and gender. Given the importance of digital literacy skills to under-represented populations, MediaSmarts and YWCA Canada have partnered to develop and deliver DigitalSmarts, a digital literacy skills program.