For over 25 years, Dr. Pattathil Dhanya Menon has worked on the darker side of cyberspace, tracing digital footprints, investigating fraud, training police departments, and helping organisations respond to cyber threats.
Recognised by former President Ram Nath Kovind as India’s first woman cyber crime investigator, Menon believes the country is entering a decisive phase in cyber security, especially with the implementation of the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act.
“Data is the real asset today. It is no longer your laptop or your firewall. It is the data sitting behind all of it,” she says.
Dhanya, founder of Avanzo Cyber Security Solutions Pvt. Ltd, says many Indian companies still fail to treat cyber security as a core business risk. “For most organisations outside the IT sector, cyber security is not even an afterthought. They only worry about containing reputational damage after an incident happens,” she says.
According to her, the DPDP Act could force organisations to finally take compliance seriously. The law introduces penalties ranging from ₹50 lakh to ₹250 crore for data breaches and non-compliance.
“I do not think there is any organisation that can comfortably survive such penalties,” she says, pointing to global examples where companies have faced massive fines for privacy lapses.
But she believes the larger concern is not only corporate negligence, but public behaviour online.
“The most disturbing thing is that people still do not understand the threat until they fall into it,” she says. “We are all habitually using the digital space without studying it.”
She explains that unlike physical theft, data theft often goes unnoticed for years. “If your watch is stolen, you know it is gone. But when your data is stolen, you realise it only when somebody misuses it,” she says.
Dhanya warns that cyber criminals increasingly exploit fear and psychology rather than technology alone. Digital arrest scams, where fraudsters impersonate law enforcement agencies and accuse victims of crimes such as terrorism or POCSO violations, are among the fastest-growing fraud patterns today.
“The attack is on the brain. The criminals create panic and urgency. The moment somebody clicks a malicious link, the compromise begins,” she explains.
Despite increasing digital dependence, Menon argues that users must consciously reduce their exposure. “You do not need every bank account connected to your phone. Keep one account for digital transactions with limited funds. Reduce the risk,” she advises.
She is equally critical of unchecked app usage and casual data sharing. “We have hundreds of apps collecting and transmitting personal data. People do not even know why half these apps are on their phones,” she says.
For children, Dhanys calls digital addiction a growing crisis. She advises parents to strictly monitor screen time and create structured digital habits. “Children are not the problem alone. The stakeholders around them have failed to take ownership,” she says.
At the heart of her message is personal accountability. “There is nothing called complete technical security. You are responsible for what comes into your digital space and what goes out of it,” she says.
A few Cyber Safety Tips you must know
• Do not click links that create panic or demand urgent action
• Keep only one low-limit bank account linked to digital payment apps
• Remove unused apps from your phone regularly
• Never share personal data unless absolutely necessary
• Ask companies why they need your data and how long they will store it
• Restrict children’s screen time and monitor online behaviour
• Report fraud immediately through 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in
• Think before forwarding messages, images or unverified information
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
