“The last ten years of IT have been about changing the way the technology works; the next ten years will be how to save IT gains from cyber attacks.”
The visited websites store our IP address, location, browser operating system, screen resolution, ISP, and preferences during online activity. This cyber footprint surveillance is an easy and soft target for cyberattacks. Harry Potter author J K Rowling says, “Seldom trust anyone that thinks for itself if you can’t see where it keeps its brain.”
Strengthening cybersecurity is essential, like locking doors. It’s one thing to turn the lock and another to spend the night sitting alert in the bedroom with a sword. There is no need to extra guard the devices, but paying less than a coffee on cyber security incurs fraud due to poor cyber hygiene. Wisely said, “Treat your password like your toothbrush. Don’t let anybody else use it, and get a new one every six months.”
The five most efficient cyber defenders are Anticipation, Detection, Education, Reaction and Resilience. Trusting technology is a good thing, but control is better. As drivers share the road, they must also share responsibility for safety. We all share the same global network. Computer security is a joint responsibility and firewall all devices.
Growing dependency on the digital system has altered societies. Industries have undergone rapid digitalisation, workers have shifted to remote working platforms, and devices facilitating the change have increased. At the same time, cybersecurity threats are growing. In the last fiscal, malware and ransomware attacks increased by 358% and 435%, respectively, outpacing societies’ ability to prevent them effectively. The irony of digital life is that science gathers knowledge faster than users collect wisdom.
Lower barriers to entry for cyberthreat actors, aggressive attack methods, a shortage of cybersecurity professionals, and patchwork governance mechanisms aggravate the risk.
The public services and business processes increasingly rely on technology. They are converging technological platforms, tools and interfaces connected via the internet, creating a complex cyber threat landscape. The aspirational innovations are making several critical failure points. As Society marches into the digital world, the threat of cybercrime slaps significant losses. The resultant failures are not just financial: critical infrastructure, societal cohesion, and mental well-being have also been devastated.
The pandemic related shift to remote work has accelerated the adoption of platforms and devices that allow sensitive data shared with cloud service providers, data aggregators, application programming interfaces (APIs) and technology intermediaries. Remote work has moved digital exchanges from office to residences, with more connected devices with less protection against cyber intrusion. The interconnectedness of digital tools will continue to increase as Society embraces the next version of the internet built upon blockchain technology. As the value of digital commerce grows in scale, cyber-attacks will increase in frequency and aggression.
Sophisticated cyber tools also allow cyber thieves to attack targets more efficiently. It was expensive to make things public and cheap to make them private. Now it’s expensive to make things personal and affordable to make them public. Once a new technology rolls out, no user is a driver but a vulnerable part of the road. There are two types of companies globally; one has been breached and knows it, and the other has been breached and don’t know it.
Technological advancement is romantic but challenging. Its security is like a moving target, undergoing frequent changes. Each device owner must always look both ways before crossing a one-way street of technological innovations. The prevention is inadequate; it is paramount to analyse the system breaches to place preventive vigilance as a digital security protocol. The real danger is not that computers have begun to think like men, but that greedy men feel like computers and devastate humanity at will.
Unfortunately, technology is ruled by two types of people: those who manage what they do not understand and those who know what they do not work. Technology shapes a colossus, making it possible for people to control everything except technology.
It is time to have two separate computers for work and personal use. Let human intelligence and supremacy prevail. A single machine might do the work of 50 ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man. Time has come to work smart rather than hard on technology for a proper ambience of cyber hygiene.
-By Hargovind Sachdev
About the Author
Mr. Hargovind Sachdev is an Ex-Banker, GM(Retd) of State Bank of India. Has over 39 years of experience in banking, having occupied senior positions in UCO Bank, United Bank of India,State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Travancore & State Bank of India where he headed the Central European Credit Desk at Frankfurt,Germany from 2006 to 2011 covering 15 countries of Central Europe.Has undergone International Banking Training from Asian Institute of Management, Manila, Philippines in the Year 2003 and a Multi-currency lending-technique training at the Euro Money Institute, London in 2009.
He has specialisation in Credit, Foreign Exchange,Vigilance, Monitoring & appraisal of Corporate Loans, MSME Credit,Gold Loans, Agricultural Loans & NRI Business Management in assets & liabilities. As a Forensic Auditor, he has conducted various Transaction Audits allotted by Banks.
He was felicitated by the Central Vigilance Commissioner , Sh. C.V Chowdhry for winning first prize for best article on Preventive Vigilance in 2015. He is also an accomplished Public Speaker hav-ing conducted multiple Motivational Seminars for institutions like ONGC, National Housing Bank & Bank of Baroda. He is an Independent Director & consultant to various big entities in corporate sector at present.
