Cybersecurity company Surfshark has just released the results of their study involving children and cybercrime. Results show that children in the Philippines rank second in being the most vulnerable cybercrime victims, just right behind Thailand and a rank higher than Turkey.
The top three most vulnerable countries Thailand, the Philippines, and Turkey have obtained an online risk exposure score of 80/100 and above, while the average global score is only 52/100.
The study by Surfshark is based on several data sources, such as crime reports from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as the Child Online Safety Index (COSI) set by the DQ Institute, an international agency dedicated to setting global safety and digital intelligence standards.
In the Philippines, 6 out of 10 children between the ages of 8 to 12 were exposed to cyber risks, such as phishing, hacking, cyberbullying, and even sexual exploitation. This can be attributed to the wide and easy access to smartphones and tablets. In fact, the Philippines ranks first in the world when it comes to smartphone usage at 74.1 percent. Pair the accessibility with a lack of proper adult guidance and supervision, a lot of children are often placed in difficult and vulnerable situations online.
As the second most exposed country to cybercrime, the Philippines has become a hot spot for online child pornography and abuse, even more so after remote education has become the norm in the past few years.
In fact, Save The Children Philippines has spoken out against this nationwide problem, describing it as a “silent pandemic” just a year ago.