Asif Ali Bhat
Recently the fake results of 10th and 12th were uploaded on a website and students were shocked when they saw their bogus marks cards on the website.
The students who were expecting distinction were declared fail in many subjects and the students who had not performed well in the examination were given good percentages. The Jammu and Kashmir Board officials acknowledged that there was some security breach and their official website had been hacked. They have registered a case and Cyber Police is investigating the matter.
It may happen with our devices and data also. We have to be extra careful and should protect our devices and personal belongings with proper safety and security.
Cyber security vulnerability is any weakness within an organization’s information systems, internal controls, or system processes that can be exploited by cybercriminals. Types of vulnerabilities are malware, virus and worms.
Since the internet is a popular means of communication, it is important to protect your computer/ mobile phone from viruses, hackers, and spyware, and in some cases someone can actually access your computer /mobile phone and delete files that could render your computer/ mobile phone unusable.
Viruses can delete files, hackers can retrieve personal information you have on your computer/ mobile phone, advertisers can load programmes that read and send them your passwords without your knowledge.
To save ourselves from viruses and malwares, we use antivirus software, also known as anti-malware. Here comes the firewall. It is a network security system designed to protect a trusted private network from unauthorized access or traffic originating from an untrusted outside network. Firewall can be implemented in software, hardware or both.
A malware-like worm has the capability to move across the networks and infect other computers. The firewall acts as the first barrier against malware. A firewall monitors network traffic, stops virus attacks, prevents hacking, stops spyware, and promotes privacy.
Now let’s talk about some of the common cyber crimes. It includes online debit/credit cards & bank frauds, job/VISA frauds, marketing Intelligence &OLX frauds, Social Media offences, Loan, Insurance & Lottery frauds, miscellaneous frauds, etc.
Social media offences- Fake ID’s are created to defame the victims. Sextortion through facebook and other social media platforms is common these days. Morphed photos of victims are kept on social media. Mail accounts are hacked and money is demanded.
Fake job offers are sent. Fake VISA processing on the name of abroad is done. People receive calls offering loan at unbelievable interest without sureties, bonus over the existing insurance policy, gift from shopping websites, sms and mails about winning of coca cola lottery, instant loan apps frauds, etc.
People are falling victims to fake investment websites & Apps scam on the name of higher returns in crypto currency.
The most common people to be affected or attacked for scamming or phishing are job seeking students, people with small businesses, uneducated people and old age people.
We can protect our privacy online by using strong passwords and enable two-factor authentication. We should be mindful of the information we share online and use privacy settings to control who can see our information.
Author is a teacher in the J&K Education Department and is working as Zonal Coordinator in Cultural Education Wing District Kupwara. (asifalienglish@gmail.com)
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