Public vigil vital for cyber-crime prevention: Salem Police Commissioner

SALEM: Security breach is caused by the victim's errors in most of the cases requiring increased public awareness and vigilance for prevention of cyber-crimes, said T.Senthil Kumar, Salem Commissioner of Police (CoP).

Delivering the inaugural address at a one-day awareness programme on cyber security organised by K7 Academy (a party of cyber security major, K7 Computing) here on Friday, T.Senthil Kumar said that there was no total or absolute safety solutions when it comes to cyber safety technology. Even the so-called end-to-end encryption systems can be attacked by cyber criminals, he said.

"Phishing emails purporting to be from reputable companies induce individuals to reveal personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers are the highest forms cyber crimes," he said. Narrating an incident of hacking into a bank's computer network to communicate with the customers and instructing them to send in money to a particular account, he pointed out how it exposed the vulnerability.

Further malicious (malware) like Trojan horses and spyware can be sent into a system by hackers to carry out stealing, encrypting altering or hijacking and monitoring users' computer activity without their permission, he said.

The CoP narrated a 'cyber-murder incident' where an accused, without being physically present, by changing the prescription of a patient remotely carried out a murder of patient in a hospital.

K. Purushothaman, CEO, K7 Computing said the company was working closely with the Police Academies to create solutions.