With the widespread increase in computer and internet usage throughout India, the risk of becoming a victim of the cyber mafia has also increased. Despite India being in the top five on the list of nations with the largest number of computer and internet users, Indians are doing very little to secure their computers against threats like identity theft, virus and worm attacks, bot attacks, phishing and many others. David Freer, vice president for Symantec Consumer from the Asia Pacific Japan region, which has one of the largest number of internet and computer users, speaks to DNA about why India needs to take the cyber threat seriously.
Where does India stand against developed nations in terms of computer security?
With the burgeoning population of computer users and high usage of broadband as well as availability of low cost computers, India is one of the leading nations in computer literacy. At the same time people are not as careful about securing their computers and networks as people in developed nations are.
What steps can be taken to create awareness about the seriousness of cyber crime?
The only way is to educate people about security threats and problems that could become much bigger than one could imagine. Complete bank accounts could be wiped out, personal details leaked to several hundred people in cyber space and many such problems. The government, along with private organisations, should take the initiative on this issue and make people aware about it. Schools and educational institutions can play a vital role in this.
What according to Symantec is the Indian user’s perspective on computer security?
In India people think that internet-based security attacks could only be like virus attacks, worm attacks and phishing whereas the issue is much bigger. One can see targeted attacks being made through social engineering, tiny URLs being used by cyber criminals to misguide people and then attack or control their computers. One would never know about it till some investigative agency traces the user IP address that has actually been misused by cyber criminals sitting in some foreign nation.
How can one tackle the issue of children getting caught in cyber crime?
In India, children have got direct access to computers since their school days, which is not the case with their parents. Many times one can see that the child knows much more than the parents about computer usage and the internet and this could lead to major problems. The only thing to do in this case is to set rules for computer usage at home. Parents should educate themselves and keep a check on the children’s online activities. There is specialised software for this.
As an internet security expert, what are the steps being taken on this issue by Symantec?
We have started a free website called www.online family. nortn. com wherein parents can register themselves and share their problems with experts on such issues. This will help educate them on several internet usage issues and help them become more alert.
Other than involvement of minors in cyber crimes, what other problems could children face in cyber space?
With several social networking sites coming up, children are first to register on such sites and join communities created by users. Many such communities are about violence, sex, etc. This could lead to online harassment or even cyber bullying which has become a very serious issue in countries wherein internet usage is high. In India such things largely go unreported. Parents have to be very alert.
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