'Secure, observe and act' is mantra of digital protection: Expert

The key elements of digital security is "secure, observe and act", says Col (Retd) Pradeep Bhat, a leading cybersecurity expert.

"All the factors that lies behind a cybercrime it is ultimately one’s carelessness and ignorance that leads to such attacks," he said, addressing an online gathering on 'Understanding Cyber Security held as part of its “Lockdown Lecture Series” hosted by Nehru Science Centre, Mumbai.

A cyber thief or a threat actor basically tries to exploit the user’s vulnerability to obtain access to digital valuables by studying sensitive passwords or by sending malicious links which the user is asked to click.

This eventually leads to malware installation in one’s smart device and thereby a stalker gets access to a person's valuable data.

He also insisted about the do's and don'ts in order to protect oneself and others from cybercrimes.

One should invest in good software utilities, ensure operating system being used is reliable and in good condition, should never leave open the laptops/mobiles which have all personal data.

"Downloading apps from authentic sites and using different passwords for accessing different platforms and changing it periodically can also help in keeping the digital valuables safe and secure," said Col Bhat.

He also cautioned about being aware of all social engineering attempts made by people through social media or emails or chats. “These could be from malicious actors trying to gain access to digital valuables,” he said.

“The subject of cybersecurity should not create fear and awe in us. Like physical security, cybersecurity too is based on simple principles and practices which we can understand and imbibe in our daily life," the veteran said.

He also explained how the same computers, mobile phones or smart devices which help us in executing our day to day activities can become a threat and may pave way to cyber frauds. Smart devices and machines are those that can be programmed to carry out different functions.

He spoke about the communication system existing between smart devices, various components involved in the networking system, how the data is collected, processed, stored and used by these devices.

“It is very important to know the components and various networks through which smart devices communicate with each other, since these can be used for cybercrimes”, he stressed.

He also mentioned how significant it is to protect our personal data from sharing on various platforms. “The first step to protect a ‘valuable’ is to identify it. However unlike physical valuables like gold chain, cash or debit cards, it is very tough to recognise your 'digital valuables'. Digital valuables are nothing but a collection of 0s and 1s stored as binary data which are saved as files or transmitted as streams”, he added.