Follow information security practices

by Dulmin Samarasinghe

Chinese President Xi Jinping

Edward Snowden

European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes

Brazillian President Dilma Rousseff

Roshan Chandraguptha

Dinithi Jayasekera

The internet has become an indispensable tool. People use it to get information, education, entertainment and for convenience such as on line transactions. Governments and companies use it to disseminate information, to conduct business and to make available their services to the public. According to the inventor of the internet Sir Tim Berners-Lee nobody would have thought the huge role it would play at present, 25 years ago.

The massive impact created by the internet has positive and negative sides. It has made people vulnerable due to social media. The governments have used it to surveillance programs raising serious questions about the intentions of such programs, as revealed by the United States (US) defence contractor Edward Snowden.

The advent of cyber espionage and cyber crime, have made people, governments and businesses weary of using the internet. Although experts tell the people to be careful when giving their personal information, they seem not to follow simple guidelines such as adjusting privacy settings. The fact is that the internet has become a part and parcel of life at present and its popularity is growing despite the dangers it poses to individuals, governments and businesses.

People should protect information by adjusting privacy settings on email and social media accounts to get maximum benefits and to avoid problems, said Senior Information Security Engineer of the Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT) Roshan Chandraguptha. "Sri Lanka cannot lag behind in using technology but should take precautions to avoid pitfalls associated with using the internet", he said.

The correct and ethical use of internet is the need to get all its benefits.

Chandraguptha said that several businessmen lost their money and goods due to "Phishing" accounts where they had not taken care to verify by means of a telephone call or by another way, when their passwords and user names were asked by such accounts. People should take extreme care to check the email address and be cautious if asked to send cash to a different on line account, as it could be a fraud.

CERT has been operating under the Ministry of Telecommunication and Information Communication Technology (ICT). It protects ICT assets of the government, businesses and provides technical assistance to the public. It educates and advises parents and the public on adjusting privacy settings on social media and email accounts to make them safe. Most of the countries now have CERT and Sri Lanka's CERT, corporate, assist and share information with them. Chandraguptha said that they were recognised by major IT companies, social media including face book and they could seek assistance on behalf of the public.

Lecturer, Department of Mass Communication, University of Kelaniya Dinithi Jayasekara said that Internet is needed at present for any type of work. Since it has no borders its usefulness is more. There are positive aspects to it such as on line transactions while negative features such as frauds, committed on line.

She said that internet is very useful for education and e-learning continue to increase. Internet is also used for entertainment which is needed for a wholesome lifestyle. People should be educated not to use Internet to activities such as abuse and cyber bullying. Web sites on internet cannot be blocked as people will find ways to access it. The future will be a digital world led by technology. It is impossible to live without technology and people have to take responsibility when they use it.

The young generation use Internet for education, information, entertainment and social interaction. According to her research in Kelaniya, Jayawardenapura and Colombo universities, 42% of the undergraduates use the popular social networking site face book (FB). Among them 83% claimed they created their own accounts. Most of the time they have searched for friends on line and 6% has used it for businesses.

Although 58% have spent less than one hour on FB 14% have spent more than 2 hours which is considered wastage. She said that 21% have accepted friend requests from unknown people risking their privacy.

When asked why they accepted such requests they had said that they wanted to increase the number of friends without realising the consequences they have to face later. This shows that even educated youth needs guidance to use the Internet. Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for his country to become a cyber power, the media reported recently, after he chaired a meeting of a special group focused on Internet security.

"We should be fully aware of the importance and urgency of Internet security and information", he said. At the meeting Xi emphasised that Internet security is a key strategic and security issue for China, Xinhua reported.

Xi's call comes as the question of large scale cyber espionage has become a key point of contention for China and United States. Beijing has also cited leaks by former American intelligence contractor Edward Snowden revealing mass US electronic surveillance programs as evidence that the US is guilty of double standards when it comes to online espionage.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff welcomed recently a German proposal to create a network to rival that of the US National Security Agency (NSA). She said that she shares the concerns expressed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel who recently called to set up a European communications network to rival the US's NSA. Rousseff said privacy, human rights and the sovereignty of the nations have to be respected.

Global mass surveillance conducted by the US and other governments destroying the future of internet, Edward Snowden told a packed auditorium of technology innovators via video link. He urged internet and computing experts to design and produce encrypted communication technology that the average user can use. Talking about internet security and calling it "defence against dark arts in the digital realm", he said the systems available, if used by the general public, would make National Security Agency's (NSA) bulk surveillance programs much more difficult.

Billions of people around the world do not trust the internet, claims European Commission vice president Neelie Kroes.

Recalling the German Chancellor Angela Merkel's phone hacking incident, she said it was clear that the trust was now missing. Speaking at the Cebit technology fair in Hanover, she said the future of the internet was based on trust.

Referring to Mrs. Merkel's calls for a secure European Communication Network, Ms. Kroes said protections needed to be tightened if it was to work.

Europeans citizens should have the right to decide where there data goes, she said. The European Commission already has proposals in place for data protection directive that requires companies and government's to take responsibility for data, she said.

Automation of critical infrastructure and control systems will make lives more comfortable while exposing to threats. By following good information security practices, threats could be minimized and benefits could be enhanced. Sri Lanka needs to keep developing its IT infrastructure to be on par with developed countries.