Human are the weakest link in cyber security chain. Amateurs hack systems but professionals hack people. It has become imperative to create awareness in the use of digital platforms through digital literacy. It is an essential requirement for safe and secured use of digital resources.
What is Cyber Security ?
• Cyber Security is protecting cyber-space including Critical information infrastructure from attack, damage, misuse, and economic espionage.
• Cyber Security is a broad spectrum phrase and relates to Preventing any form of unauthorized and malafide access to a personal computer, laptop, smartphone or a major network like the national banking system or the railways network or a national information technology asset that also has military implications. Whether it is for the email, social networking, net-banking or mobile banking, almost everyone is dependent on the internet and hence potentially vulnerable.
Key Issues :
• Of the 7.6 billion humans on earth, around 3.6 billion are online.
• Today, Social networks have become one of the main communication channels.
• Social media platforms have become endless data channels that cyber criminals are exploiting.
• In the year 2016, there were a total of 758 million online attacks worldwide, which amounts to around 2 million in a single day.
• Bots and fake followers in the social media environment.
• In this age of misinformation, bots possess the power to hijack a conversation, troll someone, promote propaganda and even cause security issues.
• Social media spread the horror far and wide and unknowingly amplify the chaos that the terrorists intended to spread. In the process, misinformation and fear spread.
• It further traumatises the families of the victims and also the public at large.
• The rapid spread of false information through social media is among the emerging risks identified in Global Risks Report.
Cyber Security Challenges :
• Some new threats have also come up like organised cyber crime, cyber crime trading, smishing (phishing with SMS), hactivism (hacker with activism), Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks.
• The intruder is not interested in actually stealing your information but in bombarding your server with unnecessary traffic thereby crashing it.
• Huge server like video streaming apps and majority of banks are under this type of attack.
• If an individual by mistake clicks on a link that contains malware or accidentally discloses sensitive information, their account get exposed to hackers, cybercriminals and identity card thieves.
• Accelerometer, microphone, camera, location, contacts, gyroscope (for orientation), heart rate, proximity light, temperature, pressure, barometer (for altitude) etc. information collected from your phone. (Personal threats)
• Internet of Things (IoTs) is another such challenge posed by the new technology whereby every object we use is equipped with the capabilities to identify, locate, sense its surroundings, compute and communicate.
• The ransom demanding malware is a virus which get into your computer, either when you download an attachment containing the virus or when you visit any such website and click on a link.
• There has been a 600% increase in ransomware variants since 2016. Major universities, hospitals, businesses and even individuals have been target of such attacks.
• We are actually living in exponential data times. In just 60 seconds 149,513 emails can be sent, 3.3 million FB posts can be made, 3.8 million Google searches can be performed, 500 hours of YouTube videos can be uploaded, 29 million WhatsApp messages can be sent and 448,800 Tweets can be made and millions of other online activities can be performed leaving incredibly large digital footprint.
• The major security threat lies to the critical infrastructure that’s why the attackers can gain control of vital systems such as nuclear power plants, financial, transportation or health systems that can lead to dire consequences.
Intruding Activities in Indian Cyber-Space :China 35%USA 17%Russia 15%Pakistan 9%Canada 7%Germany 5%Netherlands 4%North Korea 2%France 2%Others 4%
Protection against Cyber Attacks :
• Limit the amount of information that you disclose on the social networking sites.
• Do not establish friendship with strangers.
• Do not believe online information blindly as it can be misleading.
• Customise your system settings according to your needs by changing the default settings. Learn how to use privacy settings on your social profiles properly.
• Beware of third party applications. Avoid applications that seems suspicious, and make sure to modify your settings to limit the amount of information which applications can access.
• Secure your system, because unsecured network can lead to loss of your personal data.
• Use antivirus software to secure your computers and electronic devices.
• Use strong passwords to protect your account and personal information. Change your passwords frequently.
• Do not set the same password for all social accounts, if one site’s password is compromised, all other accounts will be exposed to threats.
• Two-factor and multi-factor authentication should be in place e.g. authentication along with username and password, facial recognition, iris recognition, voice ID and finger scanning.
Digital literacy is a broader concept that consists of developing new skills knowledge which provides awareness and advanced level thinking skills. It is extremely essential
to be digitally literate for appropriate utilisation of digital information resources. Therefore, it is the responsibility of each one of us to understand and help others to understand and use of cyberspace sensibly and responsibly. This will definitely ensure that the netizens are not only techno-savvy and socially existent but also digitally safe.
References
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