Thanks for having mentioned your post on the WWWEDU list too. By coincidence, today, the Semi-annual report of MELANI came out (1), with a part about “Social Networks and the Threat of Data Abuse”:

…Social networking sites can serve cybercriminals as a welcome supplier of information. To launch a professional and targeted social engineering attack, criminals conduct detailed Internet research in advance. Social networking sites containing numerous and diverse information, such as job position, e-mail address, business partners, hobbies, and the like, constitute a particularly profitable source. Using such information, e-mails infected with malware can be written more credibly. Phishing e-mails can also be formulated in a more targeted manner. …

The use of social networking sites should be governed by the same principles as use of the Internet in general. As little personal information as possible should be divulged. The information should be well protected and only made accessible to clearly defined persons.

Sure, they don’t mention children, but what they say goes in the same direction as your post, doesn’t it?

(1) MELANI = MELde- und ANalysestelle Informationssicherung, i.e. the team of the Swiss federal police who record and analyse events concerning information security. The report can be downloaded in English from Semi-annual report 2008/1.

What you said about quick fixes got me thinking: “quick fixes will not fix the human behavior problem and are likely to lead to false security that could make the human behavior problem worse.”

Well said.

Accountability software is a good bridge between a software solution and a behavioral solution. I’ve found that when a parent can model a life of accountability for a child, the Internet no long becomes a place of secrecy and anonymity: http://www.covenanteyes.com/blog/2008/06/12/is-filtering-all-there-is-introducing-accountability-software/

Thanks for all your work in this field and the generosity you have shown me in helping me with my efforts… thanks!!