Say awareness various threats is required
An increase in cyber terrorism in the country has left Bengaluru’s youngsters worried. India is among the top five nations in Asia that have received cyber security threats.
Cyber terrorism refers to mainly the use of the Internet and information technology to spread fear in society. According to a statista.com report, more than 1.1 million cyber-attacks were reported across India. A report in the Business standard said India has the most number of cyber-attacks.
Preetpal Singh, 21, an engineering student, feels unsafe due to the increasing number of cyber threats. “There are so many threats like the threat of Carding, in which people steal your card details to take your money. The Internet has its own advantages and disadvantages for youngsters like us who are regularly on the Internet. It is scary to have so many cases,” he informed The Observer.
Vishaka M, 23, a student at Bengaluru University, has similar views. “Cyber terrorism is real. Sometimes when I browse the Internet I have this weird feeling that someone’s watching me. I don’t feel the Internet is a safe space. And when I read news related to cyber terrorism, I feel scared…,” she said.
Much personal data is saved online. Many youngsters fear a breach of security.
Radhika Gupta, 27, a law student, said: “A lot of my info is online. Cyber security is a big concern. I don’t feel my data is very secure. But I don’t have a lot of options… most work is done online, especially since Covid.”
Sagar Singhal, a cyber security researcher and founder of Cysec.in, a cyber-security company, said cyber attacks are increasing mainly because there is no awareness among people.
“The Internet is so easily accessible to people of all ages, but Internet security is not readily available. Smartphones are wonderful gadgets, but they have a downside. While we are becoming digital, all our information is online. What a layman does not understand is that your data is everything. Think about it, your phone numbers are linked to your accounts and anyone can access it if they catch hold of your data.”
Lack of awareness is the key reason for many people facing cyber attacks.
“Seminars in schools and other institutions should be held to make people aware of the various cyber threats. Cyber cells in the country are not very good, so a speedy redressal system is very important. Most common types of attacks are phishing attacks and monetary frauds which can only be prevented by awareness. The targeted audience should actually not just be young people but of every age group, like older people who are not very technologically advanced. They need education too,” Singhal added.
Eugene Freese, an IT manager with a multinational company, said cyber attacks have increased because since the pandemic most business and work shifted online.
“Most people worked with compromised PCs and laptops — compromised in the sense that most of them had outdated antivirus applications and most companies could not afford downtime to fix these issues,” he said.
Not opening links from unknown sources and having a good and strong antivirus are good ways to save oneself from cyber attacks, he further explained. “We have a ‘First backup, then pack up’ policy at our company to protect ourselves from any loss of data. Everyone, whether a company or not, should have a backup file to prevent complete loss of data.” Freese said.
Cyber security has been under threat globally. According to the Global Terrorism Index, cyber terrorism across the world has been on the rise. In 2021, there was a 17 percent rise in cyber security breach cases than 2020. According to a Hindustan Times report, while India did perform well on the Global Cyber Security Index, where it ranked 10th, cyber attacks in the country have been ever increasing.
