Did you know that the Geotagging option on you mobile, if enabled, can give strangers, minute-to-minute information about your whereabouts? Or that just your telephone number can enable anyone to download all your personal information? The hidden horrors that exist in the cyberworld were revealed by Rakshit Tandon, a cyber expert, at an interaction with journalists.
Mr Tandon said that children were known to spend 6-8 hours on the Net every day and since they were not aware of the security options, there had been a 40 per cent growth in cyber-related crime.
Talking about the little known Geotagging option on smart phones, he said that when people begin to upload on the Facebook through their smart phones, their physical presence at a particular spot gets mentioned.
“If a cyber criminal is tracking you, he can easily locate your presence through the latitude and longitude mentioned along with your post. Every movement that you make during the day, can be tracked and recorded,” he said.
Mr Tandon said that with 920 million mobile users in India and 121 million Net surfers, it was important to be aware of the security options. “Children and teenagers are falling prey to cyber crime because, unlike our generation, they are growing up in the virtual world,” he said.
Underlining the need for developing Netiquettes in the cyber world, Mr Tandon said that parents must exercise caution while their children go net surfing.
“Please do not give children smart phones or tablets,” he said.