Understanding the cyber space to secure our citizens and the nation

Internet is a wonderful tool which has changed the world. Nowadays most people
can’t imagine life without internet. Also with the advancement of internet being
called as the fourth industrial revolution, it’s really a tool for any nation for
improving their economic growth, people’s lives, infrastructure, industry,
defence, etc. India being a young nation where almost, 67 percent of the
population is below 35 years of age, and with the growth of a fast English medium
educated middle class, internet has a key role to play. Also in recent years, with
the availability of affordable internet data plans and smartphones, almost every
person now enjoys cheap and good quality internet data. In fact India has the
cheapest mobile internet data in the world, thanks to various policies. It’s
encouraging to note that even small towns and villages are being connected with
4G internet connectivity, faster wi-fi as well as high speed broadband internet
connection. With such an availability of internet to almost the entire population,
there is bound to be some scope for nefarious and anti social or anti national
elements to make use of this technology to cause trouble in social life or private
lives of people. Hence we need to be aware of the various threats nowadays in
online medium and be a responsible citizen to ensure cyber space is used in an
effective manner without causing harm to our society or nation as a whole.

Information warfare, or otherwise speading fake and false news to spread

misinformation is a very relevant threat nowadays. This is not just limited to our
own country, but this threat also comes from our enemies sitting in another
country. The negative effects of fake news or information has serious effects in
our society. Take for example, the recent India-China border tensions, which was
one of the most serious incident which directly affects our national security.

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Within a few days after the deadly Galwan Clash near the LAC, fake news and
information started to spread in the cyber media and social media about India's
position in the ground. This news spread like a fire, and people began to question
or felt uncomfortable about what was happening near the borders. This gave rise
to various speculation, people were even told there would be a war which could
become serious. Then, in Arunachal Pradesh, fake news was spread that Chinese
PLA had attacked near one of the post near the border. These kinds of fake news
and propaganda always creates a panic in the minds of general people. Also to
make matters worse, they spread this news among their friends or relatives using
social media, which leads to more panic and trouble. Similarly in social media,
there are lots of rumours and fake information which are often being spread to
create a negative sentiment among masses. Take for example YouTube, where
people watch a lot of news, but when you try to look into the comments section,
there is a lot of comments, which sometimes try to spread a negative propaganda,
affecting the thinking of common people. What happens next is people form a
negative sentiment and begin questioning the policy makers.

Likewise in similar way, we use social media lot, like Facebook, Instagram, etc.
Most of the times, these social media tools are used to collect valuable data which
can be used against us. For example, recently a Chinese data analytics company
Zhenzhua, was reported to be collecting data of various important personality of
India, like important ministers, Bollywood actors, politicians, business leaders,
sports personality etc. These valuable data could be used in many ways, also it
can be used to compromise our national security. There was this recent incident
where hackers hacked into the Twitter account of a Saudi Princess who posted
some negative comments about Indian governments recent policy decisions.
Hence, it was afterwards clarified by the official and the source of hacking went
straight to Pakistan. Similarly anti national agencies also can compromise the

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electoral process of any country by collecting important data from social media
and then influencing the electoral process. Recruitment and Job related sites like
LinkedIn are an easy target for anti social and anti national elements to influence
the innocent people. For example, there are incidents, that foreign agencies recruit
spies using LinkedIn. These spies act against our national interests and can be a
threat to our nation. Similarly, there is online threat of spread of extremist
propaganda to spread ideology of terrorism and violence. The recent arrest of
some people in Bangalore who were creating apps to be used by ISIS is a great
example. Use of internet for spreading terrorism is not new, but what is alarming
is this has picked up pace in India.

Next, online harassment and blackmail is also becoming common nowadays.

People use internet to post material which may be sensitive to others. Online
details like Bank details, Address, Adhaar details, Passwords, etc can be easily
compromised if not properly handled or used. There are tons of website which
are fake and the security certificate is not updated. This can cause trouble to
people visiting those websites. In addition to that, there are rising incidents of
people creating fake accounts of other people to spread false narrative which can
harm a person as well as an organisation. It can be used to dupe others also. For
example fake company website which offer recruitment offer to innocent people
and then close down. Other fake educational institute websites which collect fees
from students but actually the institute’s don’t exist in real. There are many ways
of scamming people nowadays and lots of cyber crime happen everyday. People
who don’t use internet daily in their lives are the most likely to fall in these traps.

So looking at the above, it’s the duty of every citizen to make themselves aware
about the negative impacts of internet which can affect them, as well as the

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society and the nation. People should be aware about the dangers of using internet
without proper guidance from experts. People should try to verify the source of
information which they receive from others and not forward it instantly. People
should be aware about fake news and websites. Always be super careful about
your credentials while using them in any website. People can be made aware to
better safeguard their digital presence and take proper safety mechanism. These
are some of the steps by which we can secure our digital space and nation.

AJAY KUMAR DAS