Change passwords often, do not store vital information on phone: Sanjay Sahay, ADGP, Police Computer Wing

Mr. Sanjay Sahay, ADGP, Police Computer Wing, Bangalore visited Brigade School at JP Nagar and addressed the students on the much needed topic of cyber security. Sanjay Sahay is a dynamic speaker with a spring in his step. An officer of the 1989 batch of the IPS, borne on Karnataka cadre, Mr. Sahay’s knowledge on cyber security had the parents and students and teachers of The Brigade Schools spell bound for over an hour.

Mr. Sahay began his talk by explaining to the audience the very meaning of Cyber Security. In a nutshell, he said it was the protection of our computers and networks from outside sources.

A virus infects a computer without knowledge of the user and then spreads it to other computers causing it to crash. Technology, he said, is fast becoming our DNA in today’s world. Our thinking is linear whereas data process is exponential and that he said was why we were unable to keep the same pace.

He spoke about how data hacking and computer viruses affect us in ways that could change our lives forever. As the number of smartphones and data networks increase, so do the opportunities for hacking. He laughingly asked the audience whether they knew what the most common password was and in unison the children answered “Passwordâ€, which is correct.

It is closely followed by another common password, “12345â€. Mr.Sahay advised the audience that passwords must be changed as often as possible to keep systems safe and secure. He also advised us against storing of vital information on phones and computers.

Facebook he explained, looking at the children, is the largest platform of misunderstanding between couples. Information once on the net lives forever and when it comes back to bite you the consequences could be bad. The children were asked to go home and Google Steganography. A little tip he said was to add text in an image as it is safer than just the plain image, which can be misused. Wikipedia defines Steganography as the practice of concealing a file, message, image, or video within another file, message, image, or video.

He discussed cloud computing and its safety. As clouds store such large amounts of information it attracts hackers. At the same time it has its advantages when one needs to retrieve information. His advice was to read the small print every time we click the “I Agree†button. He said we are signing up and agreeing to things which we normally would never agree to.

He discussed cloud computing, its advantages and disadvantages. As clouds store such large amounts of information it attracts hackers. It also has its advantages in retrieving data when needed. His advice was to read the small print every time we click the “I Agree†button. He says we are signing up and agreeing to things which we normally would never agree to.

Mr. Sahay’s wealth of knowledge on cyber security was appreciated by students, teachers and parents alike. We all have a lesson to learn from Mr. Sahay’s talk and it opens our eyes to the fact that cyber security should be a priority for all of us. A tip to take home, especially for the children, was not to use extensions like EXE. DLL, VBS, U64, SHS & PIF

Mr. Sahay ended his talk by quoting Steve Jobs “We are at the cross roads of technology and humanities. Technology is racing to become man kinds DNA. Transformational changes demand transformational answers. Digital is the only way forward. What matters is grey matter in a knowledge driven world.

Together we can and together we will find a method in the digital madness!â€