Social Engineering

In other words, in the world of Internet, we are all at risk and at the same time we are also a risk to others. This kind of scenario is keeping everybody guessing as cyber frauds have become order of the day. The risk of stealing credentials of the browser is widespread which the fraudsters then use for everything from finance fraud to outright identity theft.

So, in a scenario like this, we can at least protect ourselves from others. However, the most important task is to protect ourselves from our own actions. A most common advice on protecting yourself against the cyber frauds is to have a better understanding of what the online threats are. Even as measures are in place and are continuously being upgraded to insulate browsers against cyber frauds, the social engineers prove too fast in innovating new online techniques to defraud people.  We have also seen that the awareness on risks in internet mostly revolves around the mechanism of frauds.

   

When we talk of any nature of cyber fraud, we find the main goal of fraudsters to swindle money of the victim. So mostly these cyber frauds ultimately end in a financial fraud. Here, the situation is further complicated as the country is pursuing a strong digital banking platform. We have observed that the strong digital platform has total emphasis on driving people to cashless transactions, while as the security of the online financial transactions has been getting secondary focus. 

Amazing advancement in technology has extended a lot of convenience in our day to day life. We are getting more and more dependent on technology driven operations even in our routine work. While enjoying the seamless convenience of technology, most of us forget to think of risks associated with it. This convenience of technology is a sort of sedative. It is here the fraudsters get into act taking advantage of the browsers’ drowsiness. Most of  use personal email and carry out financial transactions not just from our personal computers and smartphones but even from office computers and public Wi-Fi. While accessing personal information from different devices, we are exposing ourselves to all types of risks. 

Now the point here is how to get protection against cyber frauds when protective measures already in place too fail to insulate you against a cyber fraud. 

Today we have a scenario which reveals that as the amount of personal data being generated, transmitted, and stored on various digital devices and platforms grow exponentially, the risk of cyber attacks is also rising at an alarming rate. It’s more worrying that most of the cyber fraud acts are aimed at achieving financial gains. 

Here, it’s the cyber insurance cover which is the need of the hour. Given that more people are using smart phones and financial transactions via Internet and mobile are rising, cyber insurance should become a ‘must-have’ in an individual’s financial plan. 

A comprehensive cyber insurance cover protects cyber risks like unauthorised online transactions, phishing, email spoofing, e-extortion, identity theft, damage to e-reputation and cyber-bullying. It evens covers legal expenses in case of a legal dispute arising out of specified risks covered in the policy. But the awareness about this type of insurance is very low. 

However, getting a cyber insurance cover does not absolve you as a user from taking other precautionary measures while surfing net and conducting online transactions. 

(The views are of the author & not the institution he works for.)

sajjadbazaz@greaterkashmir.com

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