To make people in villages aware about online threats, two West Bengal government departments have jointly prepared a special edition magazine on cyber security.
The state’s panchayats and rural development department, in coordination with information technology and electronics department, formally released on Friday a cyber security special edition of ‘Panchayati Raj’, the magazine brought out by the panchayats department.
“The panchayat structure functions with three layers. From children to the grownups—people in villages now have an option of using smartphones, and other devices like desktops and laptops. The trend is slowly picking up. We are attempting to make people aware how some individuals misuse the online medium,” Pradip Kumar Mazumdar, minister of panchayats and rural development department, told DH.
According to Mazumdar, around 2,000 Bangla Sahayata Kendra, established across the state, are facilitating awareness among common people. “What are the right things to do when connected online? The information is being shared in a simple way, with use of photographs,” he said.
Babul Supriyo, minister of information technology and electronics department, who was also present at the launch event, highlighted the importance of understanding the two sides of online media. Giving various examples—online offers of availing prize money by paying a low processing fee, or offers made by sites for downloading music for free—Supriyo explained that such were misleading offers, and people, at times, share personal information that could have disastrous results.
The special edition of the magazine on cyber security will be circulated widely in rural areas. Around 12,000 copies have been printed, a senior official said.
(Published 09 September 2022, 20:37 IST)
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