PASSWORD protection for online meetings will be compulsory from today, says a leading child charity, and parents are being urged to be vigilant at keeping children cyber safe.

The warning from police and the NSPCC follows a distressing incident of ’Zoombombing’ this week.

60 children were subject to images of child sex abuse afer a hacker gained access to an online fitness class being run by a Plymouth sports club.

The NSPCC says a worrying pattern is emerging of public meetings held on Zoom being targeted by criminals sharing illegal and disturbing material.

Devon and Cornwall Police say that they believe the offenders in the Plymouth incident were able to gain access to the group after login details were shared on open social media groups.

The police have set out full guidance for anyone organising an online meeting in order to help particpants stay cyber safe. It’s available here: https://www.devon-cornwall.police.uk/video-conferencing

The NSPCC’s Head of Child Safety Online Policy Andy Burrows said: ’While the responsibility for this lies with those uploading this terrible footage, it’s important to take precautions to lessen the risks posed to children and adults, including not sharing full meeting details and passwords on social media and only providing them to people you trust.

’Zoom needs to urgently act to protect their users, while all tech firms providing video conferencing services must immediately set out how they are responding to these very real risks.’

The NSPCC’s advice for parents and carers includes;

Supervising your child whenever they are using Zoom.

Ensure meetings are password protected. This will be compulsory from Saturday May 9

If you’re hosting a public meeting ensure only you can share your screen by turning on the function when setting up the call.

Ensure the waiting room feature is on at all times and only let in people you know.

Do not share meeting details or passwords publicly or on social media, including in ‘closed’ groups, and only share them privately with attendees you know and trust.

Familiarise yourself with the security icon in the menu bar so you know how to lock the meeting, use the waiting room and remove participants