Kaspersky Lab Chooses A Cyberbullying First Aid‐App To Award With Its Special Prize At ENABLE Hackathon 2015

Kaspersky Lab, an associated partner of ENABLE, today announced the winning team of ENABLE Hackathon 2015, which will be awarded with Kaspersky Lab’s special prize. The company selected Youth Panel, the team from Germany that has developed the First‐Aid App for smartphones against cyberbullying for its prize. The team’s app was named the most practical and useful anti-bullying solution by the ENABLE jury.

The winning team, consisted of four students, was mentored by Stefanie Rack, leader of the Youth Panel and media literacy officer at the EU‐project klicksafe. Working as media scouts in their schools, the team members had already gained experience in peer‐to-peer projects in the field of cyberbullying. Drawing on their experience, they developed a first aid offer for the victims of cyberbullying, addressing young people emotionally, referring to their daily life and usage habits.

Using “helping videos”, the First Aid‐App is intended to give victims the feeling that they are not alone. The videos provide vital information on where to find quick and efficient help within the online services where bullying has taken place (for example by locating delete, report buttons etc.). The app also provides content in eye-catching videos and pictures to attract more young people.

David Emm, Principal Security Researcher, Global Research and Analysis Team, Kaspersky Lab says, “It was really hard to choose one team for the prize as all of the teams submitted impressive anti-bullying projects at Hackathon 2015. We chose the German team because their idea of offering first aid to cyberbullying victims is very topical, helpful and easy to use. With this First Aid‐App anyone being bullied at school can easily find advice, useful information, support and encouragement, at the tip of their fingers.”

As a sponsor of Scuderia Ferrari, Kaspersky Lab has awarded the First Aid‐App team with a three-day trip to Italy to visit Maranello. The team will also attend the Ferrari World Finals at the Mugello circuit to live an exclusive experience.

The ENABLE Hackathon award ceremony took place on 13 October as part of European Coding Week 2015 in London, gathering young people, educational, children’s rights and anti-bullying experts and policy makers. The competition asked young people to design a solution to help reduce bullying.

Find out more about Kaspersky Lab’s work to prevent cyberbullying, its partnership with EUN and its other CSR activitieshere. Learn more about cyberbullying, its prevention and reporting on the Kaspersky Kids Safety portal.