Disha Agarwal | ICFAI Hyderabad | 11th August 2020
Internet is used today in every domain. Online shopping, gaming, education, banking etc have become very common and have been increasing rapidly. With the excess use of virtual platform, there come more chances of being a victim of cyber crimes.
Cyber crimes are basically crimes committed by using computers or its networks, over internet. It is done by various modes and attacks diverse groups including businesses, children, government etc.
Today, online gaming has become one of the fastest and successful industries in the world. However, there can be seen an increasing trend in the number of cyber crimes due to online gaming. During the Covid-19 times, the cyber crimes in India surged drastically and lured thousands of people. Various advisories were issued by cyber crime control authorities to warn the internet users and guide them in preventing data, accounts etc. from being hacked.
Various types of cyber crimes that could happen while online gaming include:
- Hacking– It is invasion of other’s computer and seeing, copying or using their data for various purposes.
Example: Intrusion into original source code of the game to defeat others.
- Pornography– It is frequently inserted in these games, permitting children to participate in virtual or mimicked sex acts to collect more points if they click it. The pictures of men and women are delineated in these games are likewise frequently unmistakably sexual, and numerous games praise savagery and sexual abuse.
- Cyber-bullying and violence– It is online harassment or bullying. Children who appreciate vicious computer games are altogether bound to both experience and execute cyber bullying. Games of wrestling, shooting with guns, virtual physical attacks.
Example: In pubG, the open mike assists the players to talk to each other. This gives the scope to abuse in foul language resulting in cyber-bullying.
- Privacy issues– By providing access to social networking accounts, google accounts, payment information, geographical locations the privacy of the users will be compromised.
Example: Candy crush saga.
- Cyber stalking– Many online gamers experience this kind of cyber crime. The details of the players such as their name is used to stalk them at social networking platforms and repeatedly bothered.
Eg: If you link your gaming account with your facebook account, the gamers you play with get access to your name and then cyber stalking would follow.
- Virus attacks- By clicking on certain ads, pop-ups which come up during playing of games, there are chances that your computer system or gadget might get inflicted to virus, malware, Trojan etc. and your system starts producing copies.
Example: More often on sites like Zapak.
With the advancement of technology, there is advancement in the types of cyber crimes as well. The list of the cyber crimes is not exhaustive. One has to take utmost care while playing an online game so that his privacy is not compromised later. In India, the Information Technology Act, 2000 is enacted to protect and prevent cyber crimes.
HOW TO PREVENT CYBER CRIMES
With a horde of dangers in internet gaming, both financial and physical, it’s particularly imperative to follow cyber security best practices. The gaming network is dynamic, connected with, and energetic—and cyber criminals will exploit that as well as could be expected. There is a need to take safety measures to prevent cyber crimes and the losses which may arise from them.
Few of the preventive measures are as follows:
- Abstain from utilizing pirated games. These may set save your money, however will likewise make you progressively helpless against malware and other internet gaming protection.
- Be aware of phishing attacks. On the off chance that somebody you don’t know sends you links, don’t tap on or open them.
- Set a strong password and keep changing it from time to time, set tight security with multi-factor authentication, minimal disclosure of sensitive information.
Example: No need to reveal the details of University in which you are studying, the year of course, other accomplishments, address of your home, names of family members or friends, their numbers etc.
- Do not link your Google or social media accounts to gaming apps unless you have checked the track record and security measures undertaken by the online gaming platform or game developer.
- Do not use unsecured Wi-Fi for playing online games as they have the potential to hack your credentials such as usernames, passwords etc.
- If possible. Keep your geographic location turned off.
- Avoid synchronizing your contacts, photos, videos and other items with your games. There could be repercussions of such synchronization in the future which may lead to leaking of your photos, personal info, your contacts getting unwanted messages or mails.
- It is always a better alternative to have an e-mail account exclusively for gaming purposes with limited revealing of personal data. This saves you from the attempt of cyber stalking, hacking and various other cyber crimes by cyber-criminals.
- It is better to read the privacy policy of the gaming companies before actually using the gaming application or website provided by them for gaming purposes.
- If you feel that there is a chance that your personal data will be compromised, do not wait and report it as soon as possible,
- Delete the cache and cookies after you are done playing the game.
- Choose wisely and after a diligent scrutiny, the website or gaming applications for online gaming.
- Do not provide the payment details quickly such as Debit/Credit card number, CVV, Date of expiry etc. It is advisable to not keep the details saved for future use. Also, never share the One Time Passwords (OTP’s) via email, or messaging or on gaming chats.
The cyber risks are growing day-by-day. During the unprecedented crisis faced by the world due to Covid-19, cyber crimes increased at an exponential rate. One should take care to not fall a prey to such cyber crimes by taking precautionary measures and acting diligently.
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