Emerging Challenges | School Filter Avoidance | Smoothwall

Technologies like generative AI are transforming the nature of digital spaces at a pace that is almost impossible to keep up with. This presents a challenge for DSLs, who are required by KCSIE to understand online threats and protect students from them. With this in mind, Smoothwall has put together 'Emerging Challenges' - a series of quick reference articles to help safeguarders understand the key digital safety trends they need to know.  

What is school filter avoidance?

As long as school filters have existed, there have been students who attempt to bypass them. However, the current digital climate means that this issue poses greater risks in two key areas: student wellbeing and a school’s cyber security status. 

One of the most common ways students get around web filters is by employing proxy anonymisers. These tools allow users to hide their internet activity behind seemingly harmless URLs. 

There are extensive lists of proxy anonymisers available online, and students have been known to share regularly updated lists on platforms such as Discord. Any school relying on URL-based filtering will therefore always be one step behind when it comes to blocking these tools.

Deception tactics targeting students

2023 saw continued attempts by students to access content off school networks, leaving them exposed to deception tactics including:

• Utilisation of spoofed websites
• Social media scams
• Impersonation accounts

For example, a scammer may steal a well-known brand’s intellectual property (such as logos and content) in order to create a fake version of that company’s website. The spoofed site is then promoted to unsuspecting internet users to lure them into sharing personal details. The use of such strategies by malicious actors and organisations is only expected to increase throughout 2024. 

Evolving AI technology and automation techniques will allow deception tactics like these to become easier to execute and more sophisticated (and therefore compelling) in nature. As a result, young people may be more readily convinced to engage with scam-based content - jeopardising both device security and their school’s network as a whole. 

This type of victimisation can have a devastating impact on a student’s mental health. Moreover, schools that fail to demonstrate practical steps they take to effectively mitigate and manage these incidents may suffer significant reputational damage. 

How to recognise and remedy school filter avoidance

• Invest in robust filtering and monitoring solutions

  • Implement real-time, content-aware filters that can adapt quickly to security requirements, restrict harmful content as soon as it goes live and keep instances of filter avoidance to a minimum. These advanced filters analyse the actual content on a page, as opposed to simply checking the URL against a list, which means they can immediately block tools like proxy anonymisers.
  • Utilise digital monitoring tools to monitor and analyse activity on school networks - helping administrators to quickly identify suspicious activity and students at potential risk.  

• Educate students and parents on cyber security threats

  • Provide engaging lessons to students on topics like cyber security and the consequences of filter avoidance - Childnet offers a range of free resources, including lesson plans on e-safety.
  • Share information on cyber security with parents and encourage them to reinforce school cyber security policies at home.

• Regularly review safeguarding solutions

  • The DfE advises schools to perform checks of their web filtering and monitoring systems at least annually, to ensure they are in the best position to tackle evolving threats and provide school networks with the highest level of protection available.
  • Schools can visit testfiltering.com to run a free test that will produce a report outlining how successfully their filter blocks illegal, harmful and inappropriate content.