This document discusses rallying youth against cyber crime through awareness and prevention. It proposes a three-pronged strategy focusing on prevention, preparedness, and awareness creation. This would involve conducting forums to educate youth, promoting cyber safety drills, and lobbying for legal changes. The strategy argues that youth are well-positioned to catalyze change given their role as major users of technology. By making youth aware of the serious financial and social impacts of cyber crimes, this approach could drastically reduce such incidents worldwide.

1. RALLYING YOUTH
AGAINST CYBER
CRIME
ENVISIONED DISASTER : CYBER
CRIMES
AREA : DISASTER PREVENTION,
PREPAREDNESS
H. Nilès Perera
University of Moratuwa
Sri Lanka

2. CYBER SECURITY
 The World has become highly dependent on Computer Networks
 Many businesses and personal lives are entwined with the Cyber
World
 A breach into a such a network would be catastrophic

3. WHY CYBER SECURITY?
Interception and misuse of
information can lead to a potential The society is largely ignorant to
disaster in what is considered the the gravity of this threat
“information age”
Cyber Crimes are taking place as Billions of dollars are lost annually
we speak as a result of this
e.g. – Identity Theft, Credit Card
Fraud, Corporate Espionage

4. WHEN & HOW…???
A cyber security Most computer Awareness A recent survey
disaster can networks are regarding the conducted in Sri
break out any inadequately gravity of the Lanka revealed
that a majority of
second protected issue is employees would
minimum willingly give away
their login
information
This means the threat of a disaster exists from both within and outside of the
network

5. OVERCOMING CYBER CRIMES
 A three pronged strategy focussing on Prevention &
Preparedness is proposed
Tougher
Laws
Server
Lockdown
Create
Awareness

6. HOW WOULD IT WORK?
The enormity of the catastrophe that can be caused by forging,
replacing, hacking and other illegal interceptions of data using
cyber crimes are not widely known by the public
By shedding light to the issue and creating awareness among the
public prevention and preparedness can be achieved
Conduct Promote Lobby for
Forums, Cyber Safety legal changes
Discussions & Drills and using broad
Workshops to usage of youth
get the proper movements
message Firewalls,
across Anti-Virus and
other software

7. IS IT RELEVANT & EFFECTIVE?
Youth
Effective change
can be instilled by Knowledge &
a youth led Awareness gives
awareness Youth is the Awarenes
Power Change Catalyst of s
campaign
because….. the 21st century
e.g. – using social
media, blogs
Success

8. HOW IS IT INNOVATIVE?
There are many
awareness programmes
initiated across the world
to promote Cyber Security.
But a Youth lead programme will catalyse a
big change in a world where the young
generation has become the major user of the
rapidly galloping technological advancements.
Many countries have already introduced laws (e.g. - Sri Lanka enacted
the Computer Crimes Act No.24 in 2007) to mitigate this disaster,
however very few of these were drafted after careful consideration of
the future after taking inputs from the youth of the respective nations.

9. EXPECTED RESULTS…
Greater
Awareness of
the
Implement seriousness of
tougher laws Creating a
proactive platform Cyber Crimes
and regulations across the
to share
experiences and world
knowledge on
Cyber Security
breaches
Leading to a drastic reduction of
reported incidents & financial
costs of Cyber Security
breaches

10. WHY WILL IT WORK?
• Youth have always been the • Cyber Crime is a serious disaster
forefront of change, the recent that is waiting to happen, and the
“Arab Spring” illustrates what public is ignorant about it. Once
youth can achieve if they are in it the gravity of this disaster, which
together can liquidate assets, alter records,
delete or leak valuable information
and affect anyone who deals with
the cyber world in a split second
hits the general public they are
bound to react. This is a disaster
of grand scale that everyone
regardless of age, colour,
nationality, religion or region is
prone to face in the near future
and will bring the world to a
standstill.