‘Protect those kids’: Warning for parents after youth connected to ‘violent extremist group’

Experts warn that predators prey on young people through popular videogames and chat rooms.

There are renewed warnings for parents to keep an eye on what their children are doing online.

The warning comes after a Halifax youth was arrested for allegedly participating in an “online violent extremist group.” Police said the youth faces several child pornography charges.

The Canadian Centre for Child Protection said the number of offences on popular platforms is climbing.

“We know from the reports that comes into cybertip.ca that the majority of times when it involves some sort of extreme violence, the initially contact occurs in a gaming environment or a private chat environment, like discord,” said Jacques Marcoux, the centre’s research and analytics director.

According to police, the youth in this case was involved in “764,” a subgroup of the Com Network, which is made up of people who “glorify serious violence and cruelty.”

Recently, Beauceron Security, a cybersecurity software company based in New Brunswick, launched a new online learning module about the Com Network in its platform for teachers and parents.

“What we wanted to do was to explain to teachers and parents the signs to look out for, how much this is happening, that it’s real, that they need to take an active role in protecting kids, and how to approach them and have these conversations,” said David Shipley, Beauceron Security CEO.

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