Living in a world that is going ever digital, especially now with demonetisation and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to transact through e-wallets, it puts the spotlight on how secure the online world is.
Accounts have been hacked en masse in many spectacular failures of online security. Many of these involved financial transactions and the leaking of customer data. On World Computer Security Day, November 30, The New Indian Express recalls the five worst cases of hacking to hit the digital world in the past decade, and tells you how to take precautions to secure your data.
Besides these, one of the most widely-discussed cases of hacking took place during the thick of the US election campaign, when Russian hackers are said to have sneaked into the servers on which emails of the Democratic National Convention were being sent and leaked details to the press which were unfavourable to Hillary Clinton, who went on to lose the election.
India too has not been immune to hacking attempts. It is believed that most security breaches here have been caused by the cyber warfare between India and Pakistan, which in some instances saw government websites defaced. One of the more serious breaches was the Indian Debit Card hacking this year.
This data breach affected 32 lakh debit cards of SBI, Axis bank, HDFC, ICICI and YES bank. It prompted the banks to issue new cards to those whose cards had been blocked by the hackers.
How then do you keep your online data safe. Here are a few dos and don’ts for net surfing, email, social media and online banking.