Cyber Safety Case Studies: New guidance for parents and carers as AI-manipulated images of children become a growing concern Source: National Crime Agency

Introduction to the Case Study Collection

Part of The Cyber Trust Family Internet Monitoring Project

NEW: FAMILY MONITORING PROJECT VIDEOS

The Cyber Trust has released three videos in a series covering different products that families can use to monitor activity. To access them visit that Trust's Youtube Channel here.

This collection of case studies explores real-world news stories highlighting how children and young people can be placed at risk through their online activities.

The collection is drawn from real cases investigated by the Cyber Choices team at the National Crime Agency and stories reported in the press.

All of these cases could have been prevented had parents been able to monitor their child's online activity and intervene.

New guidance for parents and carers as AI-manipulated images of children become a growing concern

UK's National Crime Agency issued guidance for parents and carers to alert them to the growing threat of children's images shared online being manipulated into AI generated sexual abuse material.

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) and the National Crime Agency (NCA) have seen an increase in online offenders exploiting openly available images of children to create realistic sexualised content.

IWF analysts found 3,440 AI-generated videos of child sexual abuse in 2025, compared to just 13 in 2024, and the NCA have increasingly seen offenders exploiting AI technologies to target children in new ways.

The use of AI to manipulate images posted online and turn these against the targets is not something that is easy to block or taken down, particularly when direct communications are used to make contact.

Chief Executive of the Internet watch Foundation stated that "The threat is disturbing. If someone's imagery is online, they could be easy pickings for criminals and anyone, especially children, could find themselves being targeted."

Read the guidance here.