In the cyberworld, safety is your job: Mumbai Police chief Sanjay Pandey

CP Sanjay Pandey interacts and illustrates for the audience. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

As per the project, MTHL will connect south Mumbai to Navi Mumbai in a mere 20 minutes as compared to the current travel time of 120 minutes. File pic

Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Pandey, who has pleasantly surprised most with his level of engagement with the citizenry, got a warm welcome as he entered the venue for his talk on Cyber Safety. Pandey had been invited to speak by the IMC Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the IMC Ladies' Wing. The event was held at the Walchand Hirachand Hall of the IMC building at Churchgate on Monday evening.

Cyberworld

As the world moved online in COVID times, cyber became the buzzword of our times. There was a substantial uptick in cybercrimes, in the two years where we more or less traversed a parallel, digital universe, even more so than a physical one.

After introductions and a welcome address, Pandey began, "I am a trained cyber security professional. I am going to keep this talk interactive." He asked the audience first up: "Have you all ever been to a seminar on how to control thefts?" The resounding answer was: No. "Why?" asked Mumbai's police commissioner. "This is because we have an established system to tackle this. There is a pattern. You report the theft to the police station. Then, the investigation begins."

Pandey added, "Yet, we are attending a seminar on cyber safety. That illustrates the difference. This is because we still do not have extremely strong fundamentals in this realm. There are so many gizmos, gadgets and appliances. There may be a new one almost every day. This makes the background extremely fluid and there is a need for constant updates to safeguard against and combat these crimes."

How safe?

Pandey continued with the physical and cyberspace analogy, telling his audience that people use a good lock when it comes to their homes. "Yet, when it comes to computers, we are not as cautious. When we buy laptops, we are driven by aesthetics, so slim, so sleek and fits in our budget," he said to some laughs. "Yet, do we use the applications we download?" As the audience sat raptly, Pandey explained, "Today is somebody's anniversary, they go to buy diamonds. Out comes the digital transaction mode, we click ‘yes' or ‘accept' as we put in details. Do you know the route of the data? Sometimes there is a shaky engine taking your money on an uncharted route."

Wary wise

Pandey said the top of the cons are the numerous fraud websites "which look very similar to the bona fide ones. Clicking these is how many people lose their money. There is also the problem of stalking, getting personal details, especially of women via the dubious digital route."
Some of the dos Pandey said were "to download a good antivirus programme, and you get several good ones free. Also use a good firewall, which you can also get for free, one does not have to pay huge amounts for both."

The official who was concerned that the audience was absorbing his message, used a whiteboard like a teacher, writing and then erasing his points. He added, "Some of the other don'ts are do not click on searches that throw up results but ask you to accept cookies. Also do not store your card details with sites."

A peppy interactive session followed where he said to questions, "You are asking me whether it is wise to store details like Aadhaar and PAN card on your device. I say just do so, as long as you need it for a specific purpose and delete it afterwards."

To a question about ethical hacking, he said, "I am against ethical hacking, as a citizen. What is ethical about it?" he asked an amused audience. "Instead, make the basics of your computer knowledge very, very strong," he said.

He also spoke very strongly about the need for a Cyber Crime Act. "Till then, cyber security is left very largely to you. The Act is the need of the hour. The digital universe has given us a lot of freedom, but we have to use it with checks and balances," he ended.