Why are girls so vulnerable on dating websites? An infotoon on the e-booklet Cyber Safe Girl — Beti Ko Bachao, Cyber Crime Se (save your daughter from cyber crimes) tries to answer that question. Cyber security expert Dr Ananth Prabhu G, the author of the e-booklet that puts the spotlight on online safety of girls using graphic images, says, “Men gain access to their private videos and photos and start manipulating them emotionally.”
- Log on to cybersafegirl.com to download the free e-booklet
- While there, you can also enrol for an e-learning programme called 'cyber safe campus'. Once you go through a module, you have to take up a 30-minute online test to get a certificate that states that you are aware of staying safe from any kind of cyber crime
- The certificate issued by Information Security Education and Awareness( ISEA ) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, is valid for two years
- The e-booklet has completed over 1.5 lakh downloads. They have also distributed 10,000 printed copies of the booklet at various educational institutions
- Watch out for Profile hacking: A stalker takes over your email or social networking sites and manipulates it
- Picture morphing: A person’s face is morphed on to a body image to intimidate her
- Online games: People who suffer from self-esteem and clinical depression fall prey to dangerous online games, like ‘Blue Whale’, which becomes addictive and harms them
- Camera hacking: Phones with no camera guard can be exploited for such criminal activities
- Keylogger: A malicious programme that can collect all login details and other sensitive information
Ananth Prabhu created the content along with entrepreneur and social activist Vivek Shetty, and under the guidance of IPS officers Sanjay Sahay, S Murugan and Roopa D. “Each infotoon has a set of nine sketches that describe situations where women lay themselves open to exploitation. For example, at mobile recharge shops. When they leave their number with the vendor for recharge, anyone in the shop can gain access to the number and start harassing them with calls and lewd messages,” says Ananth, who is the cyber security trainer at the Karnataka Police Academy. “There is an increase in the number of online crimes against women, especially in the last three years. We picked these 25 common crimes based on the calls from women for help. A quantum of the calls are from women whose profiles have been hacked or their pictures morphed. The experience is harrowing, but it is an avoidable one. All it needs is awareness,”says Ananth.
Cyber security expert Dr. Anath Prabhu G
The e-booklet in the first version carried 15 sketches. “We added 10 more sketches in the second version and there are plans to add more in version three. In the second phase, we updated the booklet.
There is an exclusive section called bonus tips that tells one how to safeguard against cyber crimes. We have added 39 various sections of the IT Act and the Indian Penal Code (IPC) under which the 25 crimes can be tried. There is also information on how to prevent or deal with situations where one is harassed with pornographic content.”
Ananth says awareness has to begin at schools. “Unfortunately, most schools don't have cyber security in their syllabus. There is Information Technology Act, but no one bothers to learn it. One often ends up doing cyber crimes without being aware of their actions online.”
- Profile hacking: A stalker takes over your email or social networking sites and manipulates it
- Picture morphing: A person’s face is morphed on to a body image to intimidate her
- Online games: People who suffer from self-esteem and clinical depression fall prey to dangerous online games, like ‘Blue Whale’, which becomes addictive and harms them
- Camera hacking: Phones with no camera guard can be exploited for such criminal activities
- Keylogger: A malicious programme that can collect all login details and other sensitive information.
The infotoons highlight cyber stalking, camera hacking, trolling, SMS spoofing and call spoofing where anyone can become a soft target. He gives an example of how an old women was spoofed to believe that her son is in trouble. “She received a call from a stranger, but from her son’s number who is working in Dubai. He tells her to deposit a few lakhs of money in a bank account of a friend to free her son from the customs officials. She transfers the money and then learns about her folly.”
In some situations, it is one’s family reputation or social status that is at stake. “There is something called deep fakes. That is child’s play. With the help of high-end filters, photo editors, printers, scanners, apps and other software anyone can pick your video, use your input to manipulate, blackmail and dupe you and your dear ones. This is an advance level of picture morphing which can have dangerous consequences,” he explains.
Exercise caution, says Ananth. “Avoid posting close-up selfies. Instead, post a low resolution group photo. Be wary of suspicious e-mails or requests that asks you to share your photos.” Ananth’s mission is to create a cyber-safe India. He adds, “Internet can be be a ‘terrible master’ or an ‘excellent slave’. It's a double-edged sword. You have to be aware to choose wisely.”
