Media Release
Mangaluru, Jul 2: The version 4 of the Cyber Safe Girl book was released on Thursday July 1 by chief guest Rekha Sharma, chairperson, National Commission for Women and presided by Shyamala Kundar, member, National Commission for Women.
Dr Ananth Prabhu G, author of the book, while delivering the welcome address said, "Indian culture has always revered women. The divine are extremely happy where women are respected, where they are not, all actions (projects) are fruitless. But lately, we are seeing a spike in cybercrimes, especially against women. Therefore, we wanted to create awareness about the perils of the cyber world and precautions needed to be taken.
“Our honourable Prime Minister has also advocated for Beti Bachao Beti Padhao. Inspired by this, Cyber Safe Girl was conceived in 2017, with the mission - Beti Bachao Cyber Crime Se. The project was propelled in association with CDAC, ISEA (Government of India Initiative) under the guidance of AS Murthy and Jagdish Babu. The case studies and development of the book is done at the Cyber Security Center of Excellence of Sahyadri College of Engineering and Management,” he said and further thanked Manjunath Bhandary, chairman of Sahyadri, for the unconditional support to bring out the book.
"The version 4 comprises 40 infotoons, IT ACT, IPC and other provisions of relevant acts applicable for each of these crimes, practical tips to protect oneself from the perils of the cyber world, tips to browse the internet responsibly and glossary of the cyber jargons", said co-author DySP Yashwanta Kumar K.
Rekha Sharma, released the book online ‘Cyber safe Girl v4.0’, and appreciated author Dr Ananth Prabhu and team, saying, “Good book, very comprehensive with the illustrations of real time scenarios with good pictures. At present, crime is a very big problem, because of the pandemic and lockdown, all are working from home, using computers 24/7 these days. Cybercrimes have increased, especially crime against women in the cyber world has increased. It is very alarming that women are not only being targeted on social media, but also with financial frauds most of the time. Because of not having awareness of cybercrime and education on the internet, these are happening frequently. Newer crimes come up frequently, where the cybercriminal can sit in any corner of the world and harass someone anywhere.
“Women and children both are targeted by cybercrimes. Women must know the platforms to help them to get rid of cybercrimes, in this regard, this particular book ‘Cyber Safe Girl’ helps. Crimes such as morphing pictures and videos, creating fake iD creation in social networks such as Facebook, twitter, Instagram, etc; misuse of mobile numbers, and so on.
“People like Dr Ananth Prabhu G, who are committed to social causes, must lead to stop such kinds of crimes by educating both women and men for safety and security.
“We are talking about women, who comprise 50% of the population of the nation. If 50% of the population are not feeling safe in the cyber world, I do not think we will be able to work towards growth as our Prime Minister always says we need to work towards growth of GDP and India should be number one country economically. It is difficult to achieve this growth if there is no safety for 50% of the female population in the cyber world.
“The book seems to be the outcome of hard work from Dr Ananth Prabhu, advocate Prashanth Jhala, DySP Yashwant Kumar KM and team with very good understanding of the scenarios with pictures, which will surely help the girl child or woman population in the cyber world,” she said.
Shyamala Kundar said, ““Cybercrime is an ongoing threat, stealing personal and financial information at a rapid pace, forcing many to refrain from using the internet out of fear of becoming victims of cybercrimes.
“It is a good idea to know how to recognize cyber threats well in advance, as a first step to protect yourself and your data, taking some basic precautions and knowing whom to contact when you see others engaging in criminal activities.
“As the number of internet users are significantly increasing every day, the crimes are also increasing. In this regard, I appreciate the wonderful work done by Dr Ananth Prabhu G and team, I am sure this book will be help and serve every citizen of this country,” she said.
She also gave examples of the common cybercrimes and the importance of awareness.
The book is free for anyone to download, by visiting www.cybersafegirl.com.
Co-author advocate Prashanth Jhala delivered the vote of thanks.