PUNE:  Pune Police Commisioner Dr Satya Pal Singh inaugurated a lecture series and a poster campaign on 'Cyber Security and Cyber Law Awareness' at Garware College here on Wednesday. The lecture was organised to ensure that the younger generation is informed about how to handle the internet safely and with responsibility.

The event was organised by Pune Police Coptech Forum in association with Rotary Club of Pune Gandhibhavan and supported by SEED Infotech, CyberNiyam and ISCOM.

On the occassion, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Rajendra Dahale explained that cyber crime included frauds of various kinds such as phishing attacks, fake SMSes or e-mails stating 'You have won the lottery!', false internet banking e-mails and even e-mails with obscene pictures/photos.

Cyber lawyer Vaishali Bhagwat stressed on the 'legal' part of these crimes as most of us are unaware about the cyber laws. “Increasing incidents of cyber offences by youngsters and the onslaught of pornography on websites has been a growing concern among parents and school/ college authorities. On the other hand there is a possibility of a user committing a crime while using the Internet due to ignorance about the legal implications.”said Bhagwat, who was also the  convenor of the event.

Rotary District Governer Pramod Jejurikar and MCCIA, IT Committee, Chaiman, Deepak Shikarpur were present as guests of honour at the function. Shikarpur appealed to the Police Commissioner to introduce one chapter in the Civics books in high schools, which will create awareness among the future generations about cyber laws.

“Ignorance of the law is no excuse at all. Many boys and girls hide things from their parents as they are scared and then the crime issue becomes more complicated” said Jejurikar.

BASIC RULES FOR SAFE INTERNET USAGE

- Use Licensed Software.

- Install a good antivirus software on your computer.

- Check whether the website is genuine.

- Don't use someone else’s Copyright material from Internet e.g. Music, Content.

- Change your password frequently.