What COVID-19 taught us about Internet Safety?
COVID-19 has no doubt changed the way we look at the world. And the most significant change that it bought to our mindset is to care about our safety and that of others. We have become more conscious of our daily lifestyle like staying clean and choosing healthy options and using our freedom wisely.
With most of us now confined at our homes and only channel to communicate left is digital media, we have taken refuge within the online world but again are repeating our mistake of taking advantage of our freedom.
Do you think that nothing can happen to us in the digital world? Are you in a habit of postponing the much important system update of your mobile phone, PC/Laptop, etc? When was the last time you took a backup of your website in your local? How well are you managing your passwords or do you only have one password for all your accounts?
A bit of Hard Good luck if your answer is NO for any of the above questions.
I am not trying to scare anyone here for sure but only letting all of us aware that there are precautions we need at our digital space too.
Like COVID-19 helped us remind the importance of staying clean, we need a clean digital space too. There are vulnerabilities in digital space, and we have seen a rise in such events recently.
So What's Happening in Cyber Space - The place to be for at least a few more months?
- The vulnerabilities of Zoom have come to the forefront.
- “In this lockdown period, phishing and scamming of account cases have increased manifold. In India alone, such cases have increased by to 25 percent in the last two weeks,” a senior officer in cybercrime department told Moneycontrol on condition of anonymity.
- Indian Express:- “In the initial days of the lockdown, there was a decrease in the Internet-based frauds, possibly due to closure of some places from where these rackets were being operated. But now, it seems that cybercriminals are targeting people over COVID-19 and related issues."
- Interpol Advisory:- In guidelines for law-enforcement agencies on March 26, Interpol warned about the emerging trend of false or misleading advertisements about medical products, setting up fraudulent e-commerce platforms, phishing, etc during the pandemic.
What do we do then?
Are you are a home user suddenly working from home and getting used to the cyberspace? Are you about to start your online business? Are you just using social media to engage yourself in the lockdown?
If the answer is yes and you are not aware of the precautionary measure to take check out the link below (Indian gov guidance):
https://cybercrime.gov.in/Webform/Crime_OnlineSafetyTips.aspx
Make sure to follow Twitter handle @CyberDost for more live tweets specific for Indian audience.
Make sure you know your country's guidlines.
But that is not all!
If you are an online business owner it is paramount that you know the safety you need to take for your cyberspace, your website security, A routine for Digital Maintenance.
If you are a parent and want to limit the digital presence of your kids while making good use of digital media.
If you are a home user and want to build yourself an online business with safety.
DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT SAYING YOU HAVE TO WORRY A LOT ABOUT ONLINE SAFETY OR CYBERCRIME BUT TO TAKE PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES AND FOLLOW GOVERNMENT GUIDELINES ON CYBER SAFETY.
Now You have 2 choices:
- Remain assured that nothing bad can happen to you in Digital Space. Remain a blind consumer of digital media.
- Taking the next few days as a super golden opportunity for Smart Digital Growth. Start learning about smart ways to use digital media for your advantage instead of only consuming information. Strengthen yourself to perform much needed Digital Detox to make sure you remain grounded. Have positive discussions on tips to keep your digital presence safe and secure. Be assured that abundant results are to be followed with little to no surprises.
So which option do you choose? Option 1 or 2? share in the comments below your option and do you resonate with what I shared?
I have started a private Mastermind facebook community where I will keep sharing value and we do group discussion on Smart ways for Digital Growth. If you would like to be part of it, share in the comments “Digitally Fit”.
Thank you for reading. I look forward to knowing your views and interests through the comments... SHARE this post to your loved ones if you care for them and their online safety.
#Stayhome #staysafe #DigitalyFit
Recent Comments
1
It never hurts to be prepared, cautious and safe.
Thanks for sharing!
Mel