Social media hacking increased 13% in 2 years
The spread of propaganda through the cyber world has decreased
Social media account hacking has increased 13% since 2019 to 28% in 2021, according to a report by Cyber Crime Awareness Foundation (CCA Foundation).
The report entitled "Cyber Crime Trends 2021" was released during a press conference organised by National Committee on Cyber Security Awareness Month (CAM) 2021 on Friday morning at the Dhaka Reporters' Unity in the capital's Segunbagicha.
Highlighting the research report, Rashna Imam, an adviser to the organisation, said that cyber crimes in Bangladesh have increased alarmingly in 2019-2020, including social media and other online account hacking or information theft. New crimes like ATM card hacking have also been identified.
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According to the report, instances of social media accounts and other online accounts being hacked currently stands at a rate of 28.31% - having increased nearly 13% from 2019's rate of 15.35%.
The spread of propaganda through the cyber world has decreased in 2021. In 2019 it was 22.33%, presently it has decreased to 16.31%.
Age-based analysis of cyber crime has shown that most of the victims are between the ages of 18-30 years, making up for 86.90% of total victims.
CCA Foundation President Kazi Mustafiz said that in order to establish a healthy cyberculture in the society, the government as well as the policy makers of all types of governmental and non-governmental organisations, various social organisations and political parties have to work collectively on the issue.
The month of October has been observed as Cyber Security Awareness Month since 2004 in the United States. Norway has been celebrating it since 2011, and Europe since 2012.
The national committee on CAM 2021 was formed for the first time in a private initiative on 1 October to ensure that cyber security awareness reaches to the grassroots levels of the country.
The same theme of 2020's CAM – "Do Your Part, #BeCyberSmart" will once again be the main theme of CAM 2021 internationally. The national committee has set the theme "SachetanRoi#CyberSmartHoi" for Bengali speakers, emphasising that that cyber security is not only a collective responsibility, it is also a personal responsibility of everyone.
Convener of the CAM 2021 national committee and ISACA Dhaka Chapter President Mohammad Iqbal Hossain presided over the function. He said, "According to Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory Commission (BTRC) statistics, the total number of internet users as of March 2021 in 11 crore 61 lakh and 40 thousand. A large number of people among us post details of our daily life on social media. Things like where we are going and when, what we are eating, where my children study, what grades they got in school— we post all these things."
"We should refrain from making such posts," he cautioned adding, "by making such posts we make it easy for the criminals to learn information about us. Their hacking attempt also gets easier. So, we should not disclose sensitive personal information on social media.
Emdadul Haque, General Secretary of ISPAB, an organisation of Internet service providers, and Sanjay Chakraborty, vice president of Robi's cyber security and privacy, were present at the event.
