Yavor Kolev: Keep the Child Safe on the Internet. Let`s Be Responsible!

Wednesday, 30 March 2022 16:35

The company Lev Ins has launched a social campaign Keep the Child Safe on the Internet. For already 15 years the company has been taking care of children by organizing various initiatives. The Covid-19 pandemic forced the world to digitalize faster and forced the humanity to access the Internet to work, study and to have fun. However, exploring the world through the Internet hides also its dangers. The most vulnerable part of the society are the children. They are easy to hurt and easy to manipulate and it puts them at a high risk.

Lev Ins as a leading company in the cybersecurity is aware of its responsibility to the society and has launched another social campaign Keep the Child Safe on the Internet as a continuation of the campaign Keep the Child Safe on the Road aiming a prevention.

Yavor Kolev, longstanding Head of the Cybercrime Division at General Directorate for Fight against Organized Crimes and one of the greatest specialists in the field as well as the major driver of the campaign. Currently Kolev occupies the position of Director of Cybercrime Division at the largest insurance company in Bulgaria – Lev Ins. Here is also his opinion:

Mr. Kolev, the pandemic forced us to spend more time on the Internet. How does this affect our society?

That's right, the pandemic has made us to digitalize faster than it was expected. We already work, study and have a lot more fun in the digital space than before. All this is accelerated because of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, it is important for everyone to know that the Internet except providing many opportunities, it also hides many risks, both as well as for the business as also for the ordinary people and our children. That`s why it is important to be prepared for the dangers the cyberspace hides.

Who is the most vulnerable in the digital space?

Undoubtedly, these are our children. As parents all we often see and feel that something is wrong with our children but whether because of our hectic daily lives or for some other reason we do not realize that what happens to our children on the Internet can bring them very serious and unpleasant consequences.

Yavor Kolev with the Rector of UNWE Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov

The UNWE also supported Lev Ins social campaign Keep the Child Safe on the Internet and hosted a public lecture by Yavor Kolev concerning the safety of children on the Internet.

What are the most common risks?

Most often children fall victim to:

  • Cyberbullying, which is an escalation of the aggressive behavior between them at school.
  • Sexual revenge, typical to older students who have exchanged obscene photos and spread them on the Internet after a conflict which lead to serious psychological breakdowns, even suicides. A photo published once on the Internet cannot be deleted. Our digital identity will haunt us throughout our lives. We need to be very sensible when we post content online.
  • Theft of profiles on entertainment platforms, online communicators, e-mail or social networks, which is a crime itself but can lead also to other crimes through their unauthorized use.
  • Sexual extortion. Sexual abusers who hunt on popular social networks and even on sites designed for young children. They use fake profiles posing as victims' peers and forcing them to create sexual content. By blackmailing children they acquire sexual materials on a daily basis with the ultimate goal to take the children offline and physically abuse them.

How can we protect our children?

By showing and teaching the children how to protect themselves. That`s why we from Lev Ins have planned a large-scale social campaign Keep the Child Safe on the Internet which we will launch very soon. We are aware of the seriousness of the problem and we are determined to help.

How important is this for our society?

Very important. It is very important for parents to receive timely help from specialists. Through the campaign we will provide the necessary information to parents which will help them recognize the dangers and take timely actions to protect their children.

It is clear that not all know what to do and it will be difficult to deal with the problem on their own. It is our role. As a leading company in the world of cybersecurity we have developed many prevention methods that will be useful to parents. It is no coincidence that almost all governmental and non-governmental organizations stand behind us in this really very important endeavour. Our children need our help and we will make sure that they receive it and bring peace to their parents that they are not alone in this virtual battle. It is important to be responsible. Together we can.


National Campaign Keep the Child Safe on the Internet

Lev Ins has launched a social project to prevent the online bullying and abuse of children. The campaign covers the whole country and includes information activities, trainings, meetings with students, parents and teachers combined with presentation of solutions.

Keep the Child Safe on the Internet is the natural continuation of the long-standing Lev Ins campaign Keep the Child Safe on the Road which was very successful and caused important changes in society. Now that we all spend a significant portion of our daily lives at home and in front of our computers and phones, we need more protection than ever on the Internet. Children are the most vulnerable so our initiative is again aimed at them.

Partners of the campaign Keep the Child Safe on the Internet are the Ministry of Education and Science, the National Association of Municipalities in Bulgaria, the Union for Business Initiative, the company for innovative cyber solutions Cyber One, the progressive cyber academy Cyber 360, the Bulgarian Cyber Security Association and many other organizations from the non-governmental sector. For being faces of the campaign we have attracted the most authoritative cybersecurity specialist in the country - Yavor Kolev who is also the Director of IT and Cybersecurity at Lev Ins, and the Olympic karate champion Ivet Goranova. They will be joined by other celebrities with whom we will surprise you later.

The main activities set out in the campaign which will continue throughout 2022 include the provision of short free video trainings for children and parents, live and online information sessions, school visits, participation in events, and last but not least, advices for specific child protection solutions on the Internet.

The objective that unites Lev Ins and its partners in this project is to protect children from the dangers in the digital space before they happen. Sometimes children can unknowingly create a problem for the whole family. The only way to avoid such a scenario is to engage their attention. After extensive research in the field it has been found that the most common dangers on the Internet for children are bullying by peers, fraud, and ill-wishers who want to meet them. However, there are many other risks. How to deal with them and how to know when our child needs help will be described in detail on a specially created platform of the campaign.

Expect details about Keep the Child Safe on the Internet on the Lev Ins website as well as in the company's profiles on social media.


Photo gallery from Yavor Kolev: Keep the Child Safe on the Internet. Let`s Be Responsible! ...