A new online tool is being rolled out to enable the public to assist in flagging suspicious online links, commissioner for communications and digital security authority (DSA) head George Michaelides, said on Thursday.

“The goal is to equip members of the public, as well as critical infrastructure providers, with a tool to pro-actively ascertain trustworthiness as well as report links which arouse suspicion,” Michaelides told the CyBC.

The idea is for users to alert the DSA about any potentially problematic [mainly phishing] links which the authority will then undertake to investigate, bringing the power of the “hivemind” to bear on the issue of cyber-security.

The authority would also undertake to alert the providers of social media communications about these links being circulated through their services.

The online tool, dubbed as “Check My Link” can be accessed through the digital security authority’s website.

“It is a very simple tool,” Michaelides said. “A user can copy paste a URL and be given a trustworthiness rating, based on current evidence. The options include a button titled “Report malicious link”, which if selected will forward the link to be carefully evaluated and flagged if confirmed.”

An additional option button is “Report scam” which users who have been harmed by a malicious link can utilise to send the information directly to the police cyber-security branch.

The new-to-the-island service, a modified existing tool for cyber-safety, can be accessed here.