Data Privacy Day: Know the risks of using CHEAP phones, says IIT professor

tech.hindustantimes.com:

Data Privacy Data: As technology embeds deeper and deeper in our lives, the privacy factor has become ever so important. Unlike most other countries where data privacy laws are strict, India’s take on it is rather loose and hence, it often comes to an individual to ensure data privacy on a personal level. With a vast amount of vagueness surrounding us with regards to data protection and privacy, it comes down to personal awareness about the issue and take matters into your own hands.

We wanted to take a perspective on this and hence, reached out to Prof. Sandeep Shukla from IIT Kanpur. Professor Shukla throws light on some aspects of data privacy that may ask you to reconsider most of your digital lifestyles. Hence, if you care about privacy a lot, this is a must read for you.

Awareness is crucial in an age where everything is available so easily. Prof. Shukla says, “First is awareness -- regular consumer thinks -- what is wrong if people know my location, my movement, my habits, likings dislikes etc.” Hence, you need to ask questions as to why some app or service needs to learn your location or what you like.

“They must be aware that this can be used to do psy-ops against the country to incite violence, riots, prejudices and many other things -- and most importantly subvert democracy (recall the Cambridge Analytica incident),” adds Shukla.

While people need to be aware on an individual level, it is also up to the authorities to spread more awareness on the matter. “Awareness education, advertisement on print and electronic media to increase awareness on the importance of privacy and how to protect privacy is important. People should be made aware of Phishing and other social engineering methods used to breach privacy and