Haryana Police to observe cybersecurity month' this October

In a bid to raise awareness regarding cyber crimes among the residents, Haryana police has decided to celebrate this October as "cybersecurity month".

Chandigarh: In a bid to raise awareness regarding cyber crimes among the residents, Haryana police has decided to celebrate this October as "cybersecurity month". Following the instructions of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, awareness campaigns focusing on topics like multi-factor authentication, strong passwords, software updates, identifying online fraudsters, preventing financial fraud, and safe use of social media have been prepared, a Haryana police spokesperson said.

He said since last October, the first Wednesday of every month has been celebrated as Cybersecurity Awareness Day. The main goal of this year's theme see yourself in cyber' is to make people feel safe and confident in Cyberspace. This time, extra efforts will be made to involve the most important sections of society, women and children, amongst others, he said.

We are now receiving more than 1,000 calls daily on the 1930 National Cyber Helpline, whereby immediate action is taken. The increasing number of calls is testament to Haryana police's awareness initiatives over the past few months, he said. "Crime reporting is the greatest contribution in preventing any crime and it is also a sign of an aware society. This is the result of the tireless efforts of Haryana police, which has saved around Rs 15 crore so far from cyber thugs, he added.

The spokesperson said that the awareness program every Wednesday in October will cover different issues. He said a framework has also been sent to the districts by the state nodal agency State Crime Branch for its effective implementation. "For example, in the first week of October, it has been decided to focus on strong passwords and multi-factor authentication under which the use of better passwords and multi-factor authentication for social media accounts in addition to bank accounts will be demonstrated," he said.

Live demonstration training programmes will be held and awareness regarding creating creative and strong passwords, adopting dual security systems and the use of face or fingerprint recognition of the user will be encouraged. A Run against Cyber Crime' has been planned on October 31 on the occasion of National Unity Day and preparations to accommodate a large number of people have already been made. "Haryana police will do its best to spread cyber awareness to every corner of the state through various efforts, all preparations have been completed at the state level," he said. (PTI)