With the aim of creating awareness about cyber security, Cyber Security Awareness Day was celebrated on Saturday, 21 October at Daffodil International University campus in Ashulia with more than three hundred participants from various universities and public and private institutions. Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) Chairman Mr.
Shyam Sundar Sikder inaugurated this day-long workshop organized in collaboration with DIU as part of the October-wide ongoing cyber security awareness month. The workshop covered 6 plenary sessions on cyberbullying, cyber-related risks in the economy as well as mobile phone hacking & network compromising security.
Abu Syed Dilzar Hossain, Commissioner of Legal and Licensing Department of BTRC; Prof. Sheikh Riaz Ahmed, Commissioner of Spectrum Department; Dr. Mushfiq Mannan Chowdhury, Commissioner of Finance, Accounts and Revenue Department; Vice Chancellor of Daffodil International University Dr. M. Lutfar Rahman, Pro Vice-Chancellor of the same university Dr. SM Mahfuzul Haque Majumdar; Vice Chancellor of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Digital University Dr. Mohammad Mahfuzul Islam were also present at the opening ceremony.
While speaking as the chief guest on the occasion, the BTRC Chairman (Senior Secretary) Shyam Sundar Sikdar said that, due to the spread of new technologies, the protection of the cyber world is very challenging. In order to make the young generation proficient in cyber matters, he mentioned that awareness creation is very important in addition to introducing a contemporary curriculum. He further said that self-awareness in protecting personal information is very important. He said that mutual cooperation of public and private institutions should play an effective role in cyber security by emphasizing the formulation of effective policies and adequate funds in this sector for the protection of state important infrastructure.
In the opening ceremony, Dr. Mushfiq Mannan Chowdhury, Commissioner of Finance, Accounts and Revenue Department of BTRC presented the keynote speech on the challenges of cyber security for developing countries. He said that ‘all the countries of the world are at risk of cyberattack. Institutional capacity building, legal framework, financial capacity building, adequate cyber knowledge, and mutual cooperation of public and private institutions are very important for developing countries in cyber security. He emphasized the use of accurate data, training and awareness of cyber security.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Digital University Vice Chancellor Dr. Mohammad Mahfuzul Islam said, “The world is progressing very fast and technology is constantly changing. As technology is connected with every infrastructure, disaster can happen anytime if data security is not given importance.” He said, “As the current world is data-dependent; around 10,000 universities of the world have included cyber security in their curriculum”. Daffodil International University Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr. M Lutfar Rahman said that “to keep the world safe, it is necessary to have minimum knowledge in cyber security and for cyber awareness among the young generation, workshops and public awareness campaigns are needed.
Later, the Director General of the Systems and Services Department of BTRC, Brigadier General Mohammad Khalil-ur-Rehman, conducted a technical session on protecting mobile phones from hackers. At that time, he mentioned the importance of being aware of giving permission in the case of running apps and commented that the terms of consent for receiving any service should be clear and concise. In the session, Sheikh Riaz Ahmed, Commissioner of Spectrum Division of BTRC presented the keynote paper. He said that people are getting the opportunity to conduct their daily activities at home due to the availability of internet services and smartphones in the marginal areas of the country. He also commented that as mobile phones are connected to the Internet, personal information can be stolen by hackers from any part of the world.
NMI Raisul Bari, Senior Manager, Technology Audit, Mobile Financial Services, said that out of 7.2 billion mobile handset users in the world, 5 billion handsets are connected to the Internet. 70 percent of Android mobiles are hacked by malware. Mr Bari further noted that due to personal mobile handset security, we should not be installing apps other than Play Store, enabling two-factor authentication along with pattern lock; not clicking on links from unknown sources and SMS; verifying permissions while installing apps, and advises not to do financial transactions with free Wi-Fi.
Speakers in the panel discussion regarding preparations for cyber security in government and private sector network systems said that 26,000 porn sites have been closed in addition to 16,000 betting sites in the country’s cyber security. The speakers suggested increasing skilled manpower and adequate investment in institutional cyber security as a result of the proliferation of technology and expansion of network infrastructure.
In a panel discussion on the risk of cyberattacks on the economy, the speakers said that for cyberattacks on economic infrastructure, hackers collect information about the organization first, and then conduct cyber-attacks by weakening the systems of the organization. They also said that in the case of fraud related to financial transactions, one of the reasons is the lack of awareness of the individual and the weak security system of the device. The negotiators emphasized the use of indigenous software and applications in the security of technology.
BTRC Vice-Chairman Prof. Md. Mohiuddin Ahmed was present as the chief guest at the closing and prize distribution ceremony. At this time, he said, the people of the whole country will benefit by the program taken with the aim of cyber awareness. In the 1980s, the spread of technology in the world was very slow, but in the last decade, the technology revolution has started. He said, “Through technology, Bangladesh’s economic growth, increase in people’s living standards, and millions of jobs have been created in the telecommunication and information technology sectors”. He commented that, instead of stopping technology, protection and awareness will be needed so that their negative activities are not harmful to society.
At the end of the workshop, prizes were distributed among the winners of the Cyber Security Awareness Project Showcasing Contest, Google Hackathon Contest, and Capture the Flag Contest.
It may be noted that the Cyber Crime Awareness Foundation has been regularly observing Cyber Security Month since its inception in Bangladesh on October 1, 2016. This awareness program started with a seminar titled ‘Cyber Security: Perspective Bangladesh’ that year. After that, about a dozen organizations have been throwing into different types of awareness programs this year to observe this flagship month. However, since 2018, the CCA Foundation has published regular annual reports, but so far no organization has published reports for Bangladesh.
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