Omegle reached the heady heights of fame when everyone least expected it. Thanks to TikTok influencers, children flocked to this 13-year-old platform during the pandemic, unaware of the dangers already there. The concept of talking to strangers online is Omegle’s main selling point, but it’s not new. When you think about it, most of us always

When KrebsOnSecurity recently explored how cybercriminals were using hacked email accounts at police departments worldwide to obtain warrantless Emergency Data Requests (EDRs) from social media firms and technology providers, many security experts called it a fundamentally unfixable problem. But don’t tell that to Matt Donahue, a former FBI agent who r

A new report suggests that 16% of all children in the UK aged between 3 and 4 years old are currently using the TikTok video sharing app. This rises to 33% of all kids aged 5-7. What is the problem? The TikTok terms of service are clear – no one under the age of 13 is permitted to create an account of view videos. Similar to other online services (YouTube, F

Finding someone who hasn’t heard of TikTok in 2022 would be quite the achievement. As one of the most popular social media platforms of the moment, it is not only being used by our tweens, teens and even grownups to connect but also as a crucial way to tell important stories amidst a backdrop of natural disasters and even war.   As parents, we know we need t

In October last year, the federal court in Illinois agreed upon a preliminary approval to a $92 million settlement for a class-action suit against TikTok. The video-sharing app’s legal team managed to strike a deal by agreeing to pay the settlement and avoid further legal proceedings that could have been costlier than the proposed settlement amount. The clas

Teachers in the UK have reported a disturbing new classroom trend. Students have been secretly recording clips from their lessons and uploading them to the TikTok video social media network. This may sound quite harmless, but teachers are warning that the videos are often accompanied by inappropriate or abusive comments. Clips are typically shared among stud

Influencers on TikTok are feeling the pinch of scams and phishing thanks to targeted campaigns hungry for fresh logins. The phishing campaigns make use of much older tactics seen across multiple platforms down the years. It’s a one-two combo of “Do this quickly, or else something bad will happen”, combined with the the lure of increased social status for

Threat actors have launched a phishing campaign targeting more than 125 TikTok ‘Influencer’ accounts in an attempt to hijack them. Researchers from Abnormal Security uncovered a phishing scam aimed at hijacking at least 125 TikTok ‘Influencer’ accounts. The original phishing email used a TikTok copyright violation notice lure, the messages instructed t

TikTok has long since evolved beyond being thought of as “just” dance clips, also becoming a home for educational and informative content presented in a fun and casual way. There are accounts themed around pretty much any interest you can think of, and one of the biggest is gaming. It’s not all entirely innocent, however. Sometimes we ob

Social media is polarizing. While it’s done a lot of good for society, bringing people together, it’s also responsible for fomenting a lot of anger and distrust. From conspiracy theories to tools for radicalization, and the hostility that some users experience, social media services are responsible for amplifying anger, hatred, and racism. A lo

Instagram has announced it is pausing the development of its newest brainchild, Instagram Kids—a version of Instagram aimed at 10-12-year-olds, or “tweens”. Adam Mosseri, who heads up Instagram, wrote in a blog post about the idea behind Instagram Kids: “We started this project to address an important problem seen across our industr

When it comes to picking a new device for your child, it’s often difficult to know where to start. Whether you’re looking for a smartphone, a laptop, a gaming device or something else, or even just signing up for an account online, you want to make sure your kids are protected. It’s important to get the basics right, and you also want to

Joseph “PlugwalkJoe” O’Connor, in a photo from a paid press release on Sept. 02, 2020, pitching him as a trustworthy cryptocurrency expert and advisor. One day after last summer’s mass-hack of Twitter, KrebsOnSecurity wrote that 22-year-old British citizen Joseph “PlugwalkJoe” O’Connor appeared to have been involved

If your kids use social media, as many children do, you may be worried about protecting their privacy. Teenagers may be a bit unconcerned about such things, and may not care who reads their Twitter or Facebook posts, or who sees their photos on Instagram or Snapchat. As a parent, you know how important it is to keep your kids’ online life out of the

TikTok, one of the most downloaded apps of 2021 so far, decided to quietly update its privacy policy to collect biometric identifiers and biometric information know in the US as faceprints and voiceprints. The trendy app, owned by the Chinese internet technology company ByteDance, added a new section to its privacy policy called ‘Image and Audio Inform