With almost everything done virtually, including classes and playdates, parents (and any guardian) should not let their guard down when it comes to children going online. Parents should remember that being at home doesn’t mean your kids are safe from harm. The vast and unlimited
online world is a scarier place that parents should watch over with a vigilant eye.
How it happened
On Sept. 17, people have been forwarding a screenshot of a Zoom class of grade five students. Among those in the class is a photo of what seemed to be a group of males who hacked into the class. Manila Bulletin Lifestyle got in touch with a parent from the said school whose child was in that class. The parent recounted that it happened around 10 a.m. and “someone was let into the Zoom meeting.” The person drew a malicious photo and shared it on screen, opened the camera and showed his private body part.
This is referred to as Zoom bombing. According to How Stuff Works, this is "when strangers intrude on others' meetings on Zoom. Sometimes, these folks might just listen in without anyone knowing they're there. Other times, they totally disrupt the meetings in silly or even threatening ways."
Under investigation
As to how that group got in, our source who wishes to remain anonymous revealed that “the teacher thought it was the IT (Information Technology department) checking on the classes or a student who got disconnected.” The teacher noticed it right away and was able to kick that person out.
Our source also shared that the school is tracing the IP (Interface Protocol) address used to get in, trying to track if the class’ Zoom details were given out. This is because there are Instagram accounts that encourage students to provide their Zoom login details for them to "hack into" and "disrupt classes.” In the meantime, the school’s guidance department has addressed the issue with the class, “so they can process what happened and answer questions the students have about the matter—also to check if there was any trauma.”
Be mindful
Last but not the least, our source has a reminder to everyone who came across the screenshot mentioned above to stop forwarding the photo, “The most alarming, aside from the hacking, is how parents just share the photo without asking permission from the parents of the children who were seen in the photo. Kawawa mga parents and the kids in the screenshot.”