Dr Harold D’Costa, cyber expert and president of Cyber Security Corporation, raised concerns about the adherence to legal age limits for children using social media platforms, during a seminar on Cyber Security issues. The seminar, titled ‘Cyber Safe India’, was organised by Guardian Angel Higher Secondary School in Curchorem. It aimed to educate teachers from schools in Sanvordem, Curchorem, Sanguem, Collem, and Quepem about cyber security.
D’Costa emphasised that despite the existence of rules, regulations, and laws setting age limits for children on social media platforms, their enforcement is often lacking. He presented statistics to raise awareness among the teachers about safety and security issues related to cybercrimes. India currently boasts the highest number of internet users globally, with a significant portion being teenagers and youth under 25 years old.
Addressing the teachers, D’Costa stressed the importance of exercising caution when using digital devices and urged people to familiarise themselves with security measures and precautions. He cautioned against falling victim to cybercrimes, given that the internet is a public network and no individual owns it.
D’Costa also provided insights into identifying authentic versus fake messages and images. He particularly advised women and children to refrain from using personal photographs as display pictures and cautioned against sharing sensitive personal information and locations through status updates on social media accounts.
Furthermore, he recommended reading the terms and conditions of software installations on mobile phones thoroughly. He highlighted that allowing information to be shared with various social media platforms can impact user security. D’Costa’s presentation also covered the concept of data and the enduring nature of digital footprints.
