Cybersecurity Awareness Month: Insights from Tech Titans

Every October, Cybersecurity Awareness Month is observed worldwide. This annual initiative serves as a reminder of the critical need to protect our digital lives and data from an ever-growing array of cyber threats. Today, tech leaders from well-known organisations have been vocal about the importance of this month, offering valuable insights and advice. Here are some notable quotes from these tech leaders:

Parag Khurana, Country Manager, Barracuda Networks (India) Pvt Ltd

As October 2023 marks the 20th Cybersecurity Awareness Month, this annual event has exhorted people and businesses to take certain measures that underpin cybersecurity and the importance of staying safe online over two decades. Despite the basic understanding, millions of organisations and their employees struggle to adopt it.”

He added, “It’s not just passwords and patching; usually, people ignore technical advice even when they know it’s right.”

Here are some key tech insights and tips for digital safety:

1. Read the manual

Research has shown that fewer than 25% of people ever read the manual or instruction guide that comes with a new device or application. People are increasingly impatient and prefer to learn through trial and error. To address this, organizations can focus on creating more intuitive interfaces and user-friendly documentation, reducing the need for extensive manuals.

2. The right way of deleting an unwanted app

Simply deleting an unwanted app won’t necessarily delete any personal data it holds– it’s essential to visit your app store, locate the application, clear the data and cache, and then uninstall the app to ensure complete removal.

3. Proper solution to fix the problem

Repetitive actions like hitting the refresh or restart button won't fix underlying problems. Organizations should encourage users to seek proper solutions rather than repeating ineffective actions.

4. Set a strong password

Passwords are the keys to online assets and data– the importance of setting strong, unique passwords cannot be overstated. It's crucial to educate users on password security best practices and promote the use of password managers.

Mr. Raj Sivaraju, President, APAC, Arete

Cybersecurity Awareness Month, set against the backdrop of the rapidly evolving cybersecurity landscape in 2023, serves as a beacon of knowledge and preparedness. In the digital realm, the only constant is change, and this year is no exception. We are witnessing unmistakable trends and shifts in ransomware threats, with prominent groups like ALPHV/BlackCat and LockBit poised to continuously refine their tactics, exploiting novel vulnerabilities and expanding their reach. As we navigate this intricate digital terrain, it is imperative to recognize that cybersecurity is no longer just a task; it has become an ongoing strategy. In this landscape, awareness serves as our compass and vigilance as our shield. Robust cybersecurity measures are essential to ensure resilience and uninterrupted business operations in this ever-evolving environment.

Dr. Sanjay Katkar, Joint Managing Director, Quick Heal Technologies Limited

During this Cybersecurity Awareness Month, Quick Heal reaffirms its commitment to shaping the cybersecurity landscape by acting as digital sentinels, ensuring the safety of data, privacy, and online identities. Through initiatives like 'Cyber Shiksha for Cyber Suraksha,' the company’s CSR arm strives to educate and equip individuals with the knowledge and skills needed for a cyber-safe society. Through our Academy, we actively bridge the cybersecurity skill gap, creating future cybersecurity practitioners and leaders. Our threat intelligence reports from SEQRITE Labs offer insights and knowledge for enterprises to stay ahead of cyber risks. While all our Sales and Marketing efforts relentlessly aim to spread cybersecurity awareness across mediums for the common man, our R&D & innovation endeavours focus on demystifying the complexity of cybersecurity to make it simple and easy to use. Testament to that is our recently launched Antivirus Version 24, which revolutionizes consumer digital protection.

This version not only simplifies user experience but empowers them with a cloud-based platform called metaProtect that enables them to manage cybersecurity on the go. It equips them with features like Security and Privacy scores that share personalized assessments and recommendations to educate & interact to make complex realms of cybersecurity easy to understand and fun to use, encouraging greater adoption of digital security on the whole. These collective efforts, in their own ways, aim to cultivate a culture of cybersecurity awareness and readiness year-round continuing to work towards making India a cyber-safe nation and the world a safe, secure place.