Daily Times

Speakers at a seminar on Wednesday warned against potential dangers associated with the use of internet as anti-state elements as well as criminals have invented mind-blowing techniques to achieve their nefarious designs and commit crimes, especially against women, by using the cyber space.

The event titled ‘Cybersecurity for Women’ was organized by the Government College for Women University Sialkot. Adviser to Prime Minister on Youth Affairs Usman Dar, Mushahid Hussain Syed, Maj Gen (r) Sohail Shafqat and Lt Gen (r) Ghulam Mustafa were prominent among those who spoke on the occasion.

In their speeches, the speakers threw light on the enemy tactics through which the youth, especially the women, were unknowingly and unintentionally becoming a part of the anti-Pakistan agenda under the fifth generation hybrid war imposed on the country to divide the nation through different means by creating confusion and chaos under the influence of a storm of narratives and different ideologies.

The speakers said that cybercrime is a global phenomenon and that with the advent of the technology, cybercrime and victimization of women are also on the rise. They said information technology being a tool in the hands of criminals and anti-state elements has become a potential threat against women. They said cyber bullying is increasing day-by-day and women are often the main target. It is believed that more than 80% of the victims of cyber bullying in Pakistan are women and children, they said, and added that online harassment sometimes makes it virtually impossible for the women to use internet and the victims usually do not even know how to seek help and where to report the issue.

The speakers said hybrid conflict where focus is shifting to subversion on religious, sectarian, ethnic and social issues needs a comprehensive strategy to ensure that people, especially the youth and women, stay aware and steadfast against the propaganda onslaught launched through a soft offensive by using internet and the cyber space.

They said people, especially the women in Pakistan, are not trained to understand the complexity of the online content. Highlighting the risks of hacking and misuse of personal information, they also cautioned the young female students about terrorist groups increasingly using cyber space for recruitment and radicalization of the youth. They sensitized the participants about potential threats of promotion of liberal ideologies, drugs business, violence and sexual harassment on the internet. They also highlighted the role the academic institutions can play in sharing good practices in order to promote safe surfing guidelines.

Published in Daily Times, February 14^th 2019.