One-day seminar on 'International cyber security awareness' held

Kolkata: State Information Technology and Electronics Minister Babul Supriyo while speaking at an international cyber security awareness program at Sister Nivedita University on Saturday advised people to use the internet with caution but avoid

being scared.

"Use it (internet) carefully, use it prudently and use it with a little bit of caution but you do not need to be scared," Supriyo said, adding, "There are good sides as well as bad sides in life. It's the same with the internet."

The day-long seminar was organised by the university to celebrate the cyber security awareness month—which falls in October.

The programme had a line up of experts in the field of cyber security, including the Joint Secretary of state Information Technology and Electronic department Sanjoy Das and Director of the Indian School of Ethical Hacking Sandeep Sengupta.

The Chancellor of SNU Satyam Roy Chowdhury also sent a message of greeting to all the representatives, teachers and students of the institution, including the Minister.

"Techno India has been a front runner in tech driven education in the state. Our focus has always been to promote IT in the best possible way. With the world becoming increasingly digital, we cannot overlook the cyber threats and challenges that loom large. However, we envision SNU to become

the most sought after platform for cyber security, especially in training young minds in practicing safe cyber activities and protecting data," Roy Chowdhury said.

During the programme, speakers raised various issues pertaining to the cyber security world and awareness on ways to safeguard self during a cyber attack. Joint Secretary Das said that in the current situation—post pandemic—there exists poor cyber hygiene amongst people. He emphasised that most people do not use two-step authentication or verification, including IT professionals

He further emphasised on a need to have more skilled professionals in the field of cyber security.

"Currently, there are one lakh eighty thousand professionals and we need around 25 lakh cyber security professionals," Das said.

Meanwhile, Sengupta highlighted the fact that employment opportunities are increasing day-by-day in the field of cyber security.

But the candidates need to understand the current job trends and the subjects required to excel in the field. He briefly touched upon the hackathons which will be conducted monthly.