CHENNAI: In the wake of the recent deaths of Vinupriya, a student who hanged herself after her morphed picture appeared on Facebook, and S Swathi, a techie murdered at Nungambakkam railway station, the department of sociology at Stella Maris College conducted a guest lecture on ‘Cyber crime and women victims’ by Sylendra Babu, Additional DGP, Coastal Security Group, on Tuesday. Even simple acts of indiscretion would turn innocent people into victims, said the top policeman.
“It’s not just aimed at women, but they suffer maximum damage out of such cyber crimes,” said Sylendra Babu. He said self-esteem was a pre-requisite to fight internet-based crimes. “There are a lot of serial lovers around (on the cyber space). Hence, don’t trust a stranger and share your details,” he warned stating it was easy to get in touch with them, but getting away from them is difficult.
“Contents posted on the internet can always be retrieved. Even if we delete, the offenders will upload it again and again. It is beyond our control,” he said while recalling the cases, which he handled earlier.
Cyber crimes were committed with the help of a digital device that was connected to the internet. The devices could be used either as a target of an attack or as a tool used to attack other network users. “There are no secrets on the internet,” he said and asked students not to share their passwords with anyone. “Most of the time, keyloggers, an executable programme that records every keystroke made in the computer, are attached with the mails. So use strong anti-virus and content filtering software to protect yourself from cyber attacks and malware.”
There was a session in self-defence techniques by karate professionals. “The objects you carry can be used as powerful weapons,” they said while demonstrating a few techniques using notebooks and identity cards to defend against an assailant.
Every year, the college holds a special lecture on topics related to victimology. “After the suicide of Vinupriya, we decided the topic to be cyber crime and women victims,” said Sasitha, head, department of sociology.