Phishing involves fake emails that try to steal personal information. Links or downloads in phishing emails can lead to fake websites that steal data entered by victims. Smishing uses phone calls or texts to try phishing. Malware like viruses, trojans, spyware, and keyloggers are malicious programs that compromise devices and steal data. Physical threats involve direct access to devices. Insecure networks leave devices vulnerable to snoopers when connecting to open public WiFis.

1. Internet security

2. Phishing
O Phishing is a fake email masked as legitimate. Hackers
create phishing emails through which they intend to steal
your confidential information like passwords and bank
account details. This kind of email appears to have come
from a well-known person or organization like your bank or
company that you work for. These emails generally try to
create an urgency or panic to trick users into giving out their
personal details. For example, you receive an email from
your bank saying that your ATM card has been disabled and
you need to confirm your card number to re-activate it.

3. Phishing
O How can it steal your data?
O The phishing email might contain a link which on clicking will
take you to a fake web page. For example, the link might take
you to a fake bank website which looks very legitimate but in
reality is just a lookalike. If the victim falls for the scam and
enters his/her account details on the website, the details will
actually go to the hacker's server instead of going to the bank
and the hacker will have all the information that the victim has
provided on the website.

4. Phishing
O How to stay safe?
O Look for spelling or grammatical errors in domain names or email
addresses. Cyber criminals also often use email addresses that
resemble the names of well-known companies but are slightly altered.
For example, accounts@gmall.com instead of accounts@gmail.com (“l”
instead of “i”).
O Think twice before clicking any links. If you see a link in a suspicious
email message, don't click on it. Instead, hover your mouse on the link
to see if the URL matches the link that was provided in the message.
O Cyber criminals often use threats that your security has been
compromised or your account has been blocked. Don’t fall for such
tricks. Take your time to assess the situation.

5. Smishing
O Smishing is a form of phishing in which
someone tries to trick you into giving them
your private information via a phone call
or SMS message. Smishing is becoming
an emerging and growing threat in the
world of online security.

6. Malware
O Malware is a malicious software that is written with the intent of
compromising a system and stealing the data available on the
system. These programs can perform a variety of functions some of
which include stealing or deleting sensitive data, modifying system’s
core functionalities, and secretly tracking the victim’s activities.
There are various factors that can lead to the installation of malware
in your system. One is running an older or pirated version of an
operating system which is not safe or updated and thus vulnerable
to attacks. Clicking on unknown links or installing fake/pirated
software can also lead to downloading of malicious programs.

7. Malware
O Major types of malware
O Virus: A virus is a program that is capable of infecting software and
disabling or modifying a system’s core functionality. It tends to
replicate itself into data files, programs or boot sector of a
computer's hard drive and making the files/system inaccessible.
O Trojans: This type of malware tends to create backdoors in your
security to let attackers monitor your activities remotely. It disguises
itself as legitimate software or is included in legitimate software that
has been tampered with.

8. Malware
O Major types of malware
O Spyware: Spyware is malware designed to spy on you. It
hides in the background and tracks everything you do online,
including your passwords, credit card numbers, surfing habits
and chats. It can record keystrokes, video you from your
webcam and even listen from your microphone.
O Keylogger: This is a specific form of spyware that simply
records the keys you type and where you type them. These
logs are then sent to the attacker who can analyze them to
find your passwords, chats, credit card numbers and much
more.

9. Malware
O How to stay safe?
O Use a legitimate anti-virus software.
O Do not download any fake software as there are chances it
may contain malware.
O Never click on fake antivirus pop-ups that are generated from
websites.
O Always keep your operating system updated.
O Never download pirated apps/software as they always
contain some kind of malware

10. Physical security threats
O A physical threat is any threat to your sensitive information
that results from other people having a direct physical
access to your devices like laptops, hard drives and mobile
devices. Physical device threats occur when someone is
able to physically gain access to your confidential data like
data gathered from stolen devices.
O Physical security breaches can happen at your workplace
or even at your home. For example, someone could get
hold of your confidential files that they are not supposed to
see or access an unattended system which is not
password-protected.

11. Physical security threats
O How to stay safe?
O Be careful how you store confidential information.
Use encrypted computer hard drives, USBs, etc if
they contain sensitive information.
O Never write your passwords on a post-it or notepad.
O Never leave your system unattended. Always protect
it with a strong password.
O Don’t leave your phone unlocked and unattended.
O Make sure proper backup and remote wipe services
are enabled in case you lose your device.

12. Insecure networks
O Connecting your system or device to an insecure network
can create the possibility of a hacker gaining access to all
the files on your system and monitoring your activity
online. A hacker in control of your system can steal
passwords of your social accounts, bank accounts and
even inject malware on authentic websites that you trust.
With programs freely available on the Internet, anyone can
sit in a car outside your home and access your critical files,
accounting data, usernames and passwords, or any other
information on the network.

13. Insecure networks
O Connecting to a “free” airport/coffee shop
WiFis is dangerous especially when you are
carrying out critical activities online such as
banking, private conversation or even
browsing your email. These networks are
often left unprotected which can allow a
malicious hacker in the same shop/region to
snoop on you easily.

14. Insecure networks
O How to stay safe?
O Never connect to open Wi-Fi networks that you can't
trust. Just because it's free, it doesn’t mean it's safe
too.
O If you are using a public Wi-Fi, avoid performing any
bank transactions or accessing any critical
information while being connected.
O Use strong encryption like WPA2 on your home and
office WiFi router instead of Open or WEP security as
these can easily be hacked.