Experts warn against Big B'

KOZHIKODE: All individuals should ponder how much personal information should be divulged on the cyber space as there are unseen virtual spies watching everyone. This view was expressed by cyber experts who participated in a session on   'You are under surveillance' at the 'Kerala Literature Festival' here on the third day on Saturday.  The masses are under the 'Big Brother watching' syndrome, which is an alarming situation, they said.

Cyber forensics expert P. Vinod Bhattathirippad  said that with organisations, groups, companies, individuals and state continuing their surveillance strategy for survival, we are in a complex  phase of life. Even a common man who uses ATM cards, Facebook and WhatsApp  has to be careful about  revealing his personal data and details.

"When one uses an ATM, one is exposing much personal information to an unknown entity on the other end," he said.  Referring to surveillance in the family, Mr Bhattathirippad said that if parents use the modern gadgets like smart phones to spy on children, they would court trouble if there is a complaint.       

"The cyber context is developing fast.   The data of one may be information to another and in some incidents contextually it becomes evidence to others," he added. "We should ponder how we can reduce the voluntary supply of information to the cyber space," he said. The definition of privacy has undergone a sea change from the 1950s to the present. So if careless, there are chances that we would slip in legally or in terms of life," he warned.

Writer C.S. Meenakshi said that the surveillance of the era has no form. "It is virtual with its two ends dehumanized," she said. "Our searches in the internet are tracked. Our names are tracked. But it is programme that acts which has no emotions or face. There are many apps that work incognito in the virtual world to trap us, track us and conquer us," she said.