Evolving Cyber Crooks Waiting For That Click

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BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: As online criminals become more sophisticated and organised even though software or applications can help individuals from being victimised, taking precautionary measures and keeping up with the latest updates are crucial to avoid becoming part of the statistics, Borneo Bulletin reported.

On the final day of the three-day Cyber Security Awareness campaign, Mohd Izuddin bin Hj Md Hussin, Learning Solution Specialist from Tech One Global, who delivered a public talk on ‘Protect your Computer, Your Family and Yourself’ at Times Square Shopping Mall yesterday said he believes that at this period of evolving online criminal activities, awareness is crucial, citing the medical analogy “prevention is better than cure”.

“This also applies to computer use, no matter how secure and how well you follow the proper steps in using it, with a lack of awareness, one wrong step may lead to you becoming a victim.”

He said with the advent of technology, everyone from children to adults must always be informed of dangers in the cyber world and keep themselves up-to-date with the latest information on viruses, spywares, phishing activities and malicious software.

“Families must also be aware of -harmful elements in the Internet that victimise children in particular such as cyber bullying, stalking, online predation, which are really happening in today’s world,” he added.

An example of evolving criminal activities online, he said, would be email spamming. “Gone were the days of traditional online scamming via email where private information could be obtained by the perpetrators when victims enter their personal details. Today, just by clicking a link from a spam entail, one’s personal data could be compromised.”

One of the ways to prevent this he said is to instal a good anti-virus and anti-spyware program on computers.

“This ultimately lessens the chance but users must always do their part, which is constantly seeking for software updates and keep themselves informed of what latest tactics are being used by online criminals.”

As kids are becoming more technologically advanced today, he said it is also the role of parents and teachers to constantly monitor their online activities to lessen the chances of them being victimised by online predators. “We are not saying that they should be deprived of Internet access … it should not be the case because this is their era but they should be given access to what they want but parents and teachers must ‘walk side by side with them’. They must be constantly guided and given facts on online criminal activities so children can be more aware of its consequences.”

The cyber security awareness event was organised by the Authority for Info-communications Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam (AITI) in collaboration with E-Government National Centre (EGNC) and IT Protective Security Services (ITPSS) as well as Brunei Computer Emergency Response Team (BruCert).

Apart from cyber security talks that were open to the public, exhibitions showcasing ICT related services and security solutions were also put up by various participating vendors as well as many games and interactive sessions. A representative from AITI said they have received an encouraging response from the public for the three-day event.