A majority of Indians (89 per cent) believe schools should educate children on online safety, reveals the latest study from McAfee Corp, an American global computer security software company.

Of these, 62 per cent believe that digital wellness and protection should have its own separate curriculum while 27 per cent feel it should be integrated into technology subjects like IT.

The report further states that since last year, 81 per cent of the people in India started either full-time or part-time online learning via virtual platforms. Among the 81 per cent, 34 per cent of households, these learners fall between the age group of 18-24 years, followed by 29 per cent between 13-18 years, 24 per cent between 5-12 years, 21 per cent between 25-35 years, 16 per cent over 35 years, and 9 per cent even under the age of 5.

As many as 36 per cent of the respondents who participate in distant learning, purchased new security/protection technology in India.

According to McAfee’s Cloud Adoption and Risk Report – Work From Home edition released in May 2020, the education sector saw the second most increase in the number of threat events in their cloud accounts.

For 55 per cent of parents, the major cause of concern is the increased connectedness of their kids to illegal content, for 53 per cent it is sharing personal information as well as exposure to scams, for 53 per cent, it is cyber-bullying and misinformation for 49 per cent.

“Online scams succeed because they ride on people’s behavioural and emotional vulnerabilities and hence, sensitizing them on basic online safety protocols will contribute significantly to reducing risks and ensuring superior learning outcomes,” says McAfee.

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