Are Indian Internet Users Really Aware of Cyber Attacks?

India Listed in Top 5 On The List Of Countries Impacted by Cyber Crimes

There is a huge spike in Indians that are using Internet. I too feel handicapped when I don't have access to Internet. While traveling in Delhi Metro Rail, I see lot of commuters using Internet on their smartphones as well as on featured phones. Whether they are the youngster going to college/school, or elders going to office, the users are endless.

But are we really using the Internet in a right way? Are Indian Internet users aware of cyber attacks that lure behind phishing emails, free products download (movie or software or ebooks) or Facebook wall posts? The recent report published by Norton proof that no we are not aware of cyber crimes. We click on any links whether it's in a spam email or Facebook wall post with some racy image. We don't think for a second before clicking on any link. A phishing email claiming to be from your Bank, Google, Facebook or an email stating wining an online lottery are enough for us to get caught by sophisticated cyber attacks like ransomware, identity theft and phishing.

We as an Indian are habitual of using pirated software even though we can afford to pay for the same. We always wants free, even most of us download Antivirus and Internet Security software from torrent sites for free. But we risk our own life, hard earned money and above all our identity to cyber criminals.

According to the 2013 Norton Report, cyber-fraud in 2013 cost India and people of India a whopping USD 4 billion!!! The average cost per cyber crime victim in India had increased from USD 192 to USD 207 within the last one year i.e. 8% rise from the previous year. According to Symantec Corporation Country Sales Manager India (Consumer Products & Solutions) Ritesh Chopra, Indian are increasingly using Internet on mobile devices for work and play, it causes a new security risks for enterprises as cyber criminals have the potential to access even more valuable information through your mobile devices. The report reveals that India is among the world’s top five countries with the highest number of incidences of cyber crimes like ransomware, identity theft  and phishing. Here is a info-graphic of the Norton Report

Now, India has become the 'ransomware capital' of Asia Pacific region because of our arrogance towards cyber-fraud which caused us USD 4 billion in 2013. We need to compel our-self to buy genuine software products whether its OS or Antivirus or an Ebook. Nothing comes free in the online world, it is accompanied by Malware, Adware, Ransomware etc. Also, be vigilant while clicking on the links. Check the links by hovering the mouse on the given hyperlinks or anchor texts to verify the landing page of the links you see in the bottom right hand of your browsers. This will help to give answer to this question - Is the link really going to the website's page it claimed for? If you are uncertain of the link, just right click on the link or anchor text and copy that link and paste it on a notepad. Verify that link by searching on your favorite Search Engine-Google, Bing or Yahoo. Do research before clicking on that link.

No one is perfect. In 2010, even Google, Adobe and Juniper Networks were hacked with a flaw in Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser. So keep yourself alert of cyber attacks, update your OS, software and Antivirus and save yourself from cyber frauds.