Cybersecurity expert explains importance of gaming software controls following arrest of student

Parents advised to know gaming software controls

Online gaming networks like Xbox Live can see tens of millions of users every month and expansive platforms like this open the door for communication across varying age groups. It's why cybersecurity experts are driving home the message: parents talk to your kids.

MAITLAND, Fla. - Online gaming networks like Xbox Live can see tens of millions of users every month and expansive platforms like this open the door for communication across varying age groups.

It's why cybersecurity experts are driving home the message: parents talk to your kids.

"if you're not paying attention to what your child is doing, you're not going to know what is going on," says Mark Zeiser. He is a cybersecurity expert who works for Cutting Edge Technologies in Maitland, Florida.

When he learned that Volusia County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a 15-year-old accused of making a threat over Xbox Live to bomb a high school, he said he wasn’t surprised.

"It's just hitting people's radars more now with the violence that's gone on in schools, I think people have more of a hyper-awareness of those types of things right now," Zeiser said.

That is why parents understanding how their child's gaming software works is critical.

Platforms like Xbox Live do have controls.

"Most of the platforms have built-in methods to help narrow down those types of things, just like phones have screen time."

You can limit your child's screen time and control how they communicate with other users.

"You can actually choose to not have your child be able to communicate over voice chats and things like that," he said.

You can also limit the people they can talk to online.

"You can limit who they're talking to and have an approved list of people that they can talk to," Zeiser said.

That said, parental controls can only go so far.

"Talk to your children and say, ‘Hey, do you know this person that made this threat? Is this a joke, because this isn't funny to me.’ Drive the fact home that this is not okay," he said.

Zeiser also says it is important for parents to understand that any user online can be traced with an IP address, meaning more often than not, threats can be traced back to the original user.

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