A walkathon on Wednesday tried to raise awareness about cyber security and the menace of cyber crime.
The rally that coincided with National Computer Security Day was flagged off in front of SDF Building in Sector V and had students from various institutions.
“Do your part #becybersmart”, “Stop cyber bullying” and “Stop! think! Don’t click the link” read some of the placards that were carried by the students.
Ananya Koley, a Hooghly resident who is pursuing a course in digital forensics at the Indian School of Ethical Hacking (ISOEH), who had come to the walkathon wearing a Guy Fawkes mask said that given the increase in the number of cyber crimes, being aware was of utmost importance.
“Most of us are using smart devices... We are walking with the hope that our rally catches the attention of passersby and helps raise awareness levels about cyber security,” said Koley.
Chairman of the Nabadiganta Industrial Township Authority (NDITA) Debashis Sen, joint secretary of the state’s department of information technology and electronics Sanjay Das, founder of ISOEH Sandeep Sengupta and regional director of Nasscom Nirupam Chaudhuri were part of the walk.
Sengupta, an organiser of the event, said that they had collaborated with the state government’s department of information technology and electronics to have the walkathon.
“Anyone can be educated in the basics of cyber security. From the elderly to top IT firms, nobody is really safe these days from cyber attacks. We want to stress the point that having cyber security experts is the need of the hour,” he said. “Anyone from any background can choose to pursue a course in cyber security, digital forensics, software and network security. One does not need to have an IT background.”
