SEXUAL predators are targeting children in lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic amid fears the youngsters could be “sexting” and sharing images of themselves with others.

Cybersecurity expert Ian Stevenson told the Sunday National that police forces around the world had already highlighted the increased dangers faced by children during the pandemic, which included online grooming.

Police Scotland last month launched its latest campaign against online sexual predators who groom and abuse children online – #GetHelpOrGetCaught – with Assistant Chief Constable Duncan Sloan, lead for Major Crime and Public Protection, warning: “We are acutely aware that people are at home, that they have more time to access the internet and that the potential risk of online child abuse is, therefore, extremely high. This makes our current campaign even more relevant.”

Stevenson, CEO and founder of Edinburgh-based Cyan Forensics – which uses digital forensic science to give frontline police added investigative capability – said: “Internally, we’ve seen data and figures that point to a range of different dangers to children at this moment in time. That certainly includes traditional grooming activity which we are seeing online, but also issues of online harm such as children sexting each other and sharing imagery, which could well form the basis of future blackmail and makes them more vulnerable.

“We also have information from the National Crime Agency (NCA) which shows that new arrests are taking place due to this activity.

“The NCA report that child sex offenders are seeking to exploit more young people and children who are at home using the internet. In the last few weeks, the NCA has developed and disseminated upwards of 1000 online child sexual abuse (CSA) packages to UK policing, executed multiple warrants against high risk CSA offenders, and made several arrests, including two suspected transnational child sex offenders.”

He said grooming took place on social media platforms frequented by youngsters which was a big question for tech bosses, partially answered by age-appropriate design guides for websites and applications which can help steer technology companies.

“It’s perfectly appropriate for children to be talking with other children, but if you are creating a game or a platform that is targeting young users, you should be creating safe spaces by design,” he said.

“To help with this, organisations like the recently launched Online Safety Tech Industry Association (OSTIA) are currently working on best practice guides for platform builders, parents and users to understand these online spaces and how best to design and navigate them to promote safety.”

Stevenson said parents had a role to play, but talking about the issues of sexual abuse and grooming with their children was a difficult topic which had to be confronted.

“Actually telling your children that there are individuals online that have bad intentions is how you keep them safe, so the conversations need to be approached and delivered in much the same way you’d tell your child to not get into a stranger’s car if they offer you a lift.

“That is especially important regarding sharing any pictures or videos, as in many ways the dangers are just as real.

“But before this conversation can even take place parents must ensure that they are informed themselves. The NCA has launched a series of 15-minute activities which parents and carers can do with children to help them understand safety, so there are resources available to help.”

For younger children especially, he said parents had to think about the technologies they had access to. While games on a tablet could appear innocent enough, did they contain links to install other apps or messaging functions that enabled them to speak with other players.

The NSPCC Scotland are aware of the problem of sex offenders targeting children through exploitation of the pandemic.

A spokesperson said: “We know that children are particularly vulnerable to being groomed and coerced on video chat sites, with abusers capturing the content and then sharing online.

‘‘The Internet Watch Foundation recently reported its concern over the large amount of child sexual abuse material that was self-generated.

“Now, more than ever, it’s crucial that tech firms ramp up their response to reflect the ever-growing threat and set out clearly how they are prioritising their resources to protect children from abuse on their sites.”

Police Scotland said children and young people should think carefully before sharing any pictures online.

“It’s a good rule of thumb that they should only share pictures that they would be happy with their family and friends seeing,” said Superintendent Tim Ross, from their Safer Communities Division.

“They should also know how important it is to keep their personal information private and to contact an adult if they feel threatened.

“There are many reasons why young people take and share indecent images of themselves: they may be in a relationship and experimenting sexually with a similarly aged young person; there could be peer pressure and bullying; or they may have been the victim of a grooming process where the young person may not even be aware they are being targeted by individuals for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

“In all instances of illegal image sharing, our priority is the safety and wellbeing being of the child or young person and they will always be at the centre of our decision-making to ensure a proportionate response.

“However, where there is information to suggest a child or young person is at risk of online or contact sexual abuse we will actively pursue the people responsible.

“Any child who feels at risk or is worried should speak to a parent, guardian or teacher, phone Childline on 0800 1111 or Police Scotland on 101.”