YouthLink Calgary Police Interpretive Centre hosts Youth Cyber Summit
Ninety students from the Calgary French and International School took part in the second annual Youth Cyber Summit at the YouthLink Calgary Police Interpretive Centre.
"Cyber safety is such an important part of our well-being," said Nicolas Liwanag, a Grade 9 student at the Calgary French and International School.
"You don't know all the time if you're talking to the correct person or if you can really trust that person."
Liwanag himself hasn't fallen victim to any cybersecurity issues, but says he knows many people in his grade and school who have.
"Just at a click or like a link or just one picture sent, that could mean your entire private information or any explicit content of yourself could be exposed to a public audience," he said.
Students from the school participated in three different workshops that taught the teenagers about the dangers of artificial intelligence, deepfakes, sextortion, child luring and sharing intimate photos online.
"It's an opportunity to bring youth together in a safe place where they can ask anything they want," said Tara Robinson, executive director at the YouthLink Calgary Police Interpretive Centre.
"We just want these kids to understand how to protect themselves against something that we know that they're going to be confronted with."
Cpl. Heather Bangle with the Alberta Internet Child Exploitation Unit says the biggest threat to kids is sextortion, which AI and deepfakes will make more of an issue.
"I think if we don't get out in front of it, it's going to have a significant impact. There's just the capabilities of these deepfakes to just take someone's random picture off of their social media page and manipulate it and do what they want with it," she said.
Bangle's advice is for parents and educators to be "the first line of defence."
"Be sure that the kids know that if something happens online, tell someone. That's No. 1, is make sure they know that they can come to or have a safe adult that they can go talk to if something happens online," she said.
Chief Const. Mark Neufeld says cyber crimes are "huge" and by the time police get a report, the damage has been done.
"Any emphasis we can place on trying to educate kids, and the kids are smart when you give them the information they need to navigate the digital world safely," he said.
Neufeld wants parents and kids to understand if they fall victim to report it; don't delete the evidence.
He has seen instances where predators have reached out to eight-year-olds.
"Kids are not at fault here. It's just really important that as parents and as a community, people and decision-makers, we are treating the kids like they're victims, and we're supporting and believing them," he said.
This was the second year the YouthLink Calgary Police Interpretive Centre hosted the Youth Cyber Summit.
Victims of cyber crimes can report issues at https://www.cybertip.ca/en/.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Motive unclear as New York police hunt for masked killer who shot health insurance CEO
Investigators are searching for clues that could help them identify the masked gunman who killed the leader of one of the largest U.S. health insurance companies on a Manhattan sidewalk, then disappeared into Central Park.
AI modelling predicts these foods will be hit hardest by inflation next year
The new year won’t bring a resolution to rising food costs, according to a new report that predicts prices to rise as much as five per cent in 2025.
DEVELOPING School bus cancellations in parts of Canada due to wintry weather
School buses are cancelled in parts of Canada Thursday as wintry weather moves in during the first week of December.
Canada Post stores continue to operate during strike — but why?
As many postal workers continue to strike across the country, some Canadians have been puzzled by the fact some Canada Post offices and retail outlets remain open.
'It was like I was brainwashed': 2 Ontarians lose $230K to separate AI-generated cryptocurrency ad scams
Two Ontarians collectively lost $230,000 after falling victim to separate AI-generated social media posts advertising fraudulent cryptocurrency investments.
Gunman may have targeted California religious school in shooting that wounded 2 kindergartners
Two children were in 'extremely critical condition' after being shot at a tiny religious K-8 school in Northern California and the gunman died at the scene, apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot, police said.
'Name what things are': Recognizing 'femicide' 35 years after the Montreal massacre
Ahead of the 35th anniversary of the Montreal Massacre, Annie Ross, a mechanical engineering professor at Polytechnique Montreal, said she often thinks of those who lived through the tragedy but still suffer silently.
Congo government says it's 'on alert' over mystery flu-like disease that killed dozens
Congo's health minister said Thursday the government is on alert over a mystery flu-like disease that in recent weeks killed dozens of people, nearly half of which were children
Bitcoin tops US$100,000 as big rally sparked by Trump election win rolls on
Bitcoin has topped the US$100,000 mark as a massive rally in the world's most popular cryptocurrency sparked by the election of Donald Trump rolls on.