Tool clamps down on cyber-bullies

Cyber-bullies are being targeted by a new tool designed to lift the lid on online bullying and abuse.

The Child Protection Gateway, unveiled today by network monitoring company Chronicle Solutions and child protection group Crisp Thinking, alerts parents and teachers if children are being bullied via email, IM, VoIP or even blog comments.

The system uses Chronicle's NetReplay software to capture and index all digital communications in real-time.

It looks for inappropriate patterns, such as repeated requests for a phone number, and actively tracks them. All the data is logged, allowing parents to keep an eye on instances of bullying over many months.

The launch of the Child Protection Gateway comes a day after the government published its Don't Suffer in Silence initiative to combat cyber-bullying.

It also follows research from the Anti-Bullying Alliance, which revealed that one in five pupils has been bullied over mobile phones or the internet.

"Instant messaging has become one of the biggest communication tools for children, and we need to monitor and protect against the serious and growing threat of abuse," said Chronicle Solutions' chief executive Nick Kingsbury.

"With this new system, parents and teachers will, for the first time, have visibility and control of the information that enters and leaves the PCs used by their charges."