THE CYBER SECURITY : A Talk

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A talk which signifies the lift-off of CEV which was speeding on the runway for a long time. A talk special for us, which symbolized our tribute to the jawans of Pulwama Attack of 14 Feb.

Well now let’s move to the topic. Rishipal Yadav, a 4th-year undergrad at COMPS DEPT, SVNIT delivered the talk named the cyber-security. And here are some major glimpses of the great talk.

So the very first question to be answered is “WHY SHOULD YOU CARE ABOUT THAT?”

Here are some incidents that can prove how you can be a victim?

  1. BANK ACCOUNT:   In the period of April and December last year, nearly 24,000 fraud cases related to credit, debit cards and internet banking were registered in India, reported by mint according to RBI data. Major cases were credit card cloning and fraud phone calls. Caution: Hackers can surely use your account details to transfer some money into your account!!!  Solution:  Never save cards on sites, never disclose any type of info to an unknown person on the phone even if he claims to be governor of RBI.
  2. AADHAR CARD: Did you remember to ask for deleting the gmail from your cyber shop which you send for printing the aadhar card. It is so funny that we register an FIR when we lost it and on another hand we ourselves voluntarily send a copy to shop for printout, just give a thought. Caution: Anyone can use fake identity for many criminal offenses. Solution: Always use pen-drive for taking printouts,
  3.  EMAIL: How many times have you shared your Gmail? That’s not a problem but have you ever wondered how hard is it for any third party to crack your password? If you think strongly that it is not so hard. Caution:  Important documents can be stolen within seconds. Solution: Use multiple e-mail addresses and remember to use multi-factor authentication, and regularly change passwords. Here is a survey report, check where you are?THE CYBER SECURITY : A Talk
  4. Browsing history: Do you know about Ashley Madison data breach? 25 GB data was leaked in July 2015, which later caused victims to go in depression, divorces, commit suicide and blackmailing. Solution: Use cloud flare for browsing, it is far faster and safer than google! More is given ahead.
  5. Social media: The advantages of social media are i.) you can be in touch we with far friends, ii.) you can share your experiences on a large platform, and so on….. but once for a while sit down and think calmly, is that so important that you use it so often. Cautions: There have been theft, murders, and other crimes which on investigations revealed that the locations and check-ins on social media were used for that. Solution:  Use your common sense. Any social media firm is a company whose sole purpose is profit. So you are yourself responsible for the information which you share. Use privacy features and other securities for it, and more importantly be aware of what you post on Facebook, Instagram, etc.

I am sure this would be enough to make you realize your vulnerability to the cyber threat in this digital world of the information age.

Probably you would ask, what to do then,  WHOM SHOULD YOU TRUST?”

Sadly the answer is that the stakes are so high that you can never claim of 100.0% security, how much you spend on your antivirus, how often you change your passwords, etc. Only thing is that you can only keep the probability as low as possible.

THE CYBER SECURITY : A Talk

IMPORTANT MEASURES:

  1. Dont use password managers, instead try to remember them.
  2. Change your passwords more often.
  3. Use multifactor authenticity and confidentiality features.
  4. Dont just give various applications unnecessary permissions like location and contacts access.
  5. USE CLOUD FLARE: as your DNS server as it is more fast and secure than giant Google.
  6. Never ever use “Public WiFis” any cost, they are very much vulnerable. Use VPN in extreme circumstances.
  7. Beware of phishing emails, one can easily trace it with common sense.
  8. Do security updates as soon as they are available for different apps.
  9. SOCIAL ENGINEERING: Across the globe out of all the cyber crimes reported most of them are the result of user negligence, unawareness, and human error. Only few are the incidences of technical error although they cost much higher and destructive, like data breaching of giants. So whenever using your phone in public always be aware while entering passwords, etc.
  10. Think before you click: this is much simpler very very effective trick to keep you safe and secure.

WHAT IS DNS?

Nearly everything on the Internet starts with a DNS request (Domain Name System). DNS is the Internet’s directory. Clicking on a link, opening an app, sending an email, the first thing your device does is ask the directory, where should the device look for that.

Unfortunately, by default, DNS is usually slow and insecure, mostly used Google has 8.8.8.8. By logging your IP address they can see every site you visit and every app you use, even if their content is encrypted. Some DNS providers sell data about your Internet activity or use it to target you with advertisements, and hence earn huge profits.

Cloudflare, US-based DNS provider have 1.1.1.1. It is the DNS provider with the highest speed and currently most reliable DNS provider. You must switch over that.

THE CYBER SECURITY : A Talk

CONCLUSION:

So with increasing services we all are subject to more and more risks to be attacked by heinous hackers. Simple is the concept the more convenience you seek the lesser secure you are. For example, use COD and you will be at the safe side, that is so simple. But this technology has become indispensable in our life, hence we need to be calm and responsible for every click me make. Common sense is a great tool to fight against this. Just keep these wise words in mind:

“The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy’s not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable.”                                                SUN TZU

 

In the end, a movie clip to make our motive more clear:

 

At last huge thanks to Rishipal Yadav Sir from whole CEV team for such an amazing talk.

Thanks for reading!

Stay blessed,

TEAM CEV

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