Teachers should discuss ‘dark web’ dangers in class

Cyber experts call on schools to educate pupils and parents on safety

Teachers should familiarise themselves with the dark web and discuss it with pupils, a leading internet safety charity has said.

Kathryn Tremlett from the South West Grid for Learning, (SWGL) said teachers needed to learn about the Tor browser which can eventually give access to sites filled with illegal items such as drugs, guns and child pornography, as well as terrorist training manuals.

The browser can be downloaded free of charge and allows people to be anonymous online, by making it extremely difficult to trace searches back to its original computer.

Ms Tremlett said the dark web, developed by US military researchers in the 1990s, has a disproportionate amount of attention and coverage and most children would find it difficult to access.

It is not known how many children in Scotland have been able to get through the technical barriers to access it.

Ms Tremlett, a helpline practitioner at SWGL, which helped found the UK Council for Child Internet Safety, said: “It’s important to know how it works, so having a play yourself is the best way for teachers to find out about it.”

Joss Wright, research fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute, said teachers should have a “frank and open discussion” about the dark web, rather than censoring or banning it.

“The students most likely to use the dark web are the ones who already know all about it.

“As for the students who don’t know about it, I really honestly think that if you tell them about it, they are unlikely to jump through the technical barriers to use it.”

Rick Holland, vice-president of strategy at Dark Shadows, managing organisations’ digital risk, said schools should also run digital workshops for parents.

And Colin Tankard, managing director of cyber-security consultancy Digital Pathways, said schools needed to emphasis the “fear factor”.

He said: “The dark web can be a very dark place. So I don’t think schools and education bodies should steer away from talking about it.

“The ‘fear factor’ should be the trigger for people to say, ‘It might be interesting, but do I really want to go there?’”

Larry Flanagan, EIS teaching union general secretary, said pupils already learn about the challenges of the web.

“Within that there may be appropriate reference to ‘dark web’ danger. But it would be age-appropriate advice accompanied by strong personal safety warnings. It is not something that would be routinely part of lesson planning, other than perhaps an acknowledgement it existed.”

The relentless march of technological progress brings many opportunities and dangers. The breakneck pace of progress means it can be hard simply trying to keep track of the change. But for those tasked with the welfare of our children, that is a duty that cannot be shirked.

The hazards presented by the digital world are among the most serious.

The so-called “dark web” has achieved notoriety thanks to its extreme content, with sites selling the likes of illegal drugs, guns, and circulating child pornography and terrorist training manuals. In an attempt to curb youngsters’ access to such resources, the South West Grid for Learning, a leading internet safety charity, has said teachers should familiarise themselves with the dark web and have a frank discussion about it with pupils.

The charity’s intention is laudable, but misplaced. Such a job is the responsibility of parents, too many of whom absolve themselves from their children’s internet habits. Today’s children live online and parents must understand the risks they are being exposed to.