By: Abhishek Agarwal, President, Judge India & Global Delivery, The Judge Group
Around 170 incidences of data theft were recorded in India in 2021. The number of cybercrimes involving this kind of theft increased significantly over the previous year. High digital use and low cybersecurity awareness could be the two main factors contributing to the rise in cybercrime in the nation (Statista, 2022).
On November 18, 2022, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, presented a draft bill – ‘The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022’ – with an invitation to the public to comment. “The Bill is mainly to make those entities accountable, which are monetising data. In case of a data breach even the government is not exempted,” sources from the Ministry asserted.
The seven principles of Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2022 are:
- Organisations must use individuals’ personal information lawfully, fairly, and transparently.
- Any personal information must be used only for the intent it was obtained for.
- Data collection must be minimised as much as possible.
- Inaccurate data must be promptly erased or amended using reasonable measures.
- The storage of personal information mustn’t be perpetual by default but limited to a specified length of time.
- Proper protections must exist to guarantee that no unauthorised acquisition or processing of personal information happens.
- One responsible for determining the intent and means of processing personal information should be answerable for such decisions.
The effectiveness of this Bill in curbing cyber robbery in the nation will be seen after December 17, 2022 – the deadline for contributing feedback on the Bill. In the meantime, we can show you some smart ways to keep your data from hackers as well as crackers. Take a look:
Ways to keep your private details from getting hacked
- Install a firewall or an antivirus
This is the simplest thing you can do. Then why wait and whine later? Your bank account information, payment card details, private account passwords, and sensitive personal media are your virtual wealth, which you must safeguard just as you would any real property. Because stealing the same could result in a great gain for the thief and a lot of loss for you.
- Complicate your passwords
In a word, the more complex your password, the harder for the hacker to intrude on your virtual privacy.However, there is still another line of defence. A lot of services (including Gmail) allow you to set two-factor authentication, which heightens security by having you enter a number code accompanying your password when logging in. This code is sent to your mobile phone or email ID.
- Turn Bluetooth off
If you’re done using Bluetooth on your phone or other devices, tap it off. Ever heard of bluebugging, bluejacking, or bluesnarfing? These three forms of Bluetooth attacks are among the most harmful and frequent ones. These techniques open a backdoor for hackers whereby they can gain access to contacts, read and send messages, listen to and make calls, and possibly even engage in more harmful activities.
- Regularly update your OSs, browsers, and apps
To the aforementioned, always install the latest updates. Most of these updates provide security repairs that stop hackers from accessing and using your data for their wrong motives.
- Suspect freebies
In this period of hyperinflation, a free something smells a bit fishy. So, before you excitedly go for free apps or free Wi-Fi, exercise extreme caution and only believe sources with solid track records.
In combination with the suggestions made above, limit your internet presence and use VPNs and encryption to shield your online activities against violation. Keep yourselves up-to-date on what is new in the IT security landscape, just like you would with your computer software.
Remember! Your cyber safety is in your hands first.