“Be careful with what you say online, internet never forgets the words you said…”
As world economies are maturing in terms of internet adoption, more and more people are privy to the new digital experience. Low-cost data rates, mobile penetration and widespread smartphone adoption catalyze internet adoption. Millennials and Gen Z are true digital natives who have redefined technology adoption and diminished the thin line between work and life. They are ubiquitously connected from the time they get up till they fall asleep. Global WebIndex states in its 2018 report that a millennial spends an average of 2hrs 38mins on Social media. Organizations are empowering their employees with mobile apps, web tools to engage with them on Internet. On one end we are taking a lot of efforts to increase productivity by empowering their workforce with these tools, on the other hand, there are rising incidents of cybersecurity. Not everything is rosy here as the Internet comes loaded with its own demons. Fuelled by IoT, UAV’s and mobile devices, Gartner Inc projected the cybersecurity market growth at $170.4 Bn by 2022. All this sets the premise for us dedicating a day towards Safer Internet. Feb 11, 2020, we commemorate Safer Internet Day. Organizations globally are raising a lot of awareness on this issue as we move towards digital payments, cyber transactions and alternate digital models like Blockchain.
Late 2019 we saw even Jeff Bezos smartphone get hacked, we are no exception. But there are a few basics that we can teach our teams on safe and responsible internet usage like sharing passwords, sensitive information through texts, IM or Social networks. What you say online remains online forever. Don’t install updates and patches from untrusted sources, be cautious of Malware. Don’t say things on social media, that which you will not say in person. Go through a mandatory session of data privacy as any violation in this front can lead to serious implication leading to hefty fines and imprisonment.
At an individual front, this day gains even more significance as more children are getting exposed to the online world. It is our responsibility to educate our children on the untrusted nature of internet and social media engagement. Keep an eye on your children’s browsing habits on your devices. teach them to be aware of people who are too friendly to them on social media. Create a whitelist of sites in your browsers that your child can browse. Create and agree upon boundaries like not sharing selfies with unknown strangers or on chat rooms.
