Neha Chhabra

SECURE DIGITAL INDIA - Powering connections with secure digitization

Digital India refers to the creation and delivery of digital infrastructure through electronic manufacturing to empower the Indian citizen by providing all public and private sector services electronically with ease. The key word in the modern digital world is “Account” which is not only confined to one’s banking and financials but acts as a gateway to access all the electronic platforms. Reverting to older, time-consuming practices like paper transactions, money order transfers, queuing up in banks or writing cheques is outdated; digitalization has made our life easier with one click on our smartphones.

Reliance Jio’s user base ran into millions within weeks, thanks to Aadhaar ID verification. Passports are now issued in two weeks with Aadhaar from six months earlier. Tax returns are filed in real time, thanks to e-filing. Digital India will continue to expand — less than 10% of transactions are digital at present. Yet digital India needs to build trust and greater security. The problem with government databases is that these are live, accessed by multiple users within the government and outside, that multiplies the security challenge. The government is the biggest player in digital India and there are multiple user agencies accessing the data to complete their tasks. These include Banks, Telco’s, Insurance companies, Credit Card issuers, Mobile Wallets, E-Commerce companies, Hospitals, Security and Gas agencies etc. Linking Aadhaar with everything is a risk if done without adequate checks and balances. There are good uses and bad uses of data. In a digital world, it’s a never-ending cat-and-mouse game, with hackers trying to breach networks. The greatest threat to digital India could arise from hackers residing anywhere in the world.

About 20 years back, 40-bit encryption was considered high-tech. Today it can be breached in minutes and companies have moved to 128-bit and 256-bit encryption. Databases like Aadhaar are secured with 2048-bit encryption. There aren’t enough geeks to protect digital assets. Digital India needs top professionals who can build hack-proof systems, block chain and quantum-computing era ready and ensure 24x7 protections against threats. The trouble is we don’t know the bad users, anything can be hacked, trust us we secure your journey with QUICK HEAL (Anti-Virus).

Today, our inventions are the foundation of so many of the devices and applications that are enhancing our everyday lives. Creation & remembering passwords for all the electronic accounts becomes a hassle & can be a threat to secure Digital India Campaign.

Do's & Don'ts To Protect Your Data:

• Activate SMS alerts for all financial transactions
• Avoid common passwords across platforms (like same password for bank account & facebook)
• Use strong passwords & avoid writing down passwords
• Be careful about what personal information you share over the phone
• When downloading free apps (or even paid ones) be aware that they access address books & other information on smartphones, check if you really need them
• Avoid doing sensitive transactions like mobile banking using public Wi-Fi
• Be careful what you print/copy on public printers (even office printers/copiers)
• Avoid accessing bank account transactions, social media in cyber cafes or other people's devices

Biometrics-based Aadhaar has helped remove fake beneficiaries and ghost accounts. However, despite an unbreakable 2048 bit encryption of most government databases, 100% security may never be possible. The ratio of the risk of financial fraud in India is 8:1. Fraud in India has been under check due to Reserve Bank of India’s insistence on the tighter, two-factor authentication and because the number of people using digital services frequently is still low. More than 50% e-shoppers still insist on cash on delivery option.

Often users store personal information on their smartphones. They download free apps like WhatsApp or Truecaller. These apps want to make your life easier, but at the cost of sharing your address book, an app could seek permission in its long list of terms & conditions which nobody cares to read — to copy every word you key in, compromising security. Here’s where the hacking & data theft takes place. Facebook and Instagram have user’s name and birth dates, besides frequent updates. Amazon, Flipkart and other E-commerce companies know addresses, mobile numbers, debit card numbers & credit card numbers. Over the next few years, if users are able to do banking via links, say, on Facebook, it will multiply risks of security. The biggest challenge is that your data is not just with your bank there’s an entire ecosystem of players and not all of them run their shops with the same level of rigor and controls that banks do. Users need to be aware of what they do with hotspots as well as before connecting to public Wi-Fi. Also, using the corner photocopy shop to get Aadhaar or passport copies is not without risks. These machines come with hard disks that store copy or print.