Bhopal: ‘Tread cautiously in cyberspace; never share, store private images, videos’

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Only awareness, vigilance and deterrence can help prevent incidents like the one reported from a university hostel in Chandigarh recently and from ITI the city on Friday, said cyber experts, psychiatrists, educationists and social activists.  

Cyber expert Yashdeep Chaturvedi told Free Press that the students should be made aware of the cyber laws. “Capturing, storing or transmitting private images of anyone is a serious crime, which may land you behind bars for many years. But how many people know about it?,” he said, adding that this knowledge will act as a deterrent. 

“Just as there is personal hygiene, there is also something called digital hygiene. And we all should practise it” says psychiatrist Dr Satyakant Trivedi. He says that digital technology and social media are here to stay and we have to learn how to keep ourselves safe.

Prof. Vinita Mohindra, Head, Humanities Department, MANIT said that while protecting oneself from such crimes is important, it is equally important not to be blackmailed. 

Social activist Asma Khan says, “Due to the anonymity which the cyber space offers, our behaviour in the cyber world is very different from the real world and that sometimes lands us in trouble.” 

Kavita Agarwal, a Civil Engineering student at MANIT says that such incidents are scary. “One has to be very cautious in giving permissions to various apps,” she added. 

Some ways of keeping yourself safe 

Never allow anyone, no matter how close to you, to shoot such pictures or videos of yours which you would not like everyone to see. You never know when anyone may turn against you.

Never store your private videos or photographs in digital devices. One never knows when you yourself or someone else may make them public either accidentally or on purpose.

While using washrooms and changing rooms at public places, make sure that there are no hidden cameras.

If you become a victim of such a crime, approach the police without delay. Do not allow yourself to be blackmailed.