Guwahati, May 6: Truecaller, the leading global platform for verifying contacts and blocking unwanted communication, and CyberPeace Foundation, a civil society organisation, launched a nation-wide campaign, TrueCyberSafe, in collaboration with Assam Police here on Friday.
This is the first time that the launch of such a campaign on Internet safety has been initiated from the Northeast.
The initiative aims to create awareness and train people to tackle cyber frauds, leading to a safer online experience.
It may be noted that the cyber safety training that began from Assam will be held in five regions across India to increase awareness about the steps Internet users can take to avoid fraud, spam and scams.
Commissioner of Police, Guwahati, Harmeet Singh and Anurag Goel, principal secretary, information technology department, Assam graced the occasion at Royal Global University here.
Major Vineet Kumar, global president and founder, CyberPeace Foundation and Pragya Misra Mehrishi, director of public affairs, India Truecaller, were also present at the event.
The programme opened with a keynote followed by training on ‘recent cyber crimes and safety measures’ that can be incorporated in daily lives.
Addressing the programme, Assam principal secretary, IT department, Anurag Goel said, “The pandemic has highlighted the vulnerabilities of cyberspace, which is evidenced by the rise in cyber attacks in the past few years. This can only be tackled through better awareness and the ability of the people to recognise and report cyber crimes.”
“Taking cognizance of this issue, the government of Assam has taken several measures in the past, including organising a month-long cyber awareness drive and issuing a one-stop guide book on how to stay safe online,” Goel said.
In his address, city commissioner of police, Harmeet Singh, said, “Along with technological innovations, there has been a corresponding rise in cyber threats and online harassment. India has seen a five-fold jump in cyber fraud cases between 2018 and 2021. Hence it is imperative that citizens are empowered, and the first step to achieving this is to raise awareness on digital safety and outline ways to report cyber crimes.”
Pragya Misra Mehrishi, director of public affairs, Truecaller, in her address said, “We remain committed to building trust in communication by making it safe. To build on this mission, we are conducting our first set of training programmes in Assam as part of our national campaign. We are excited to partner with Assam Police and receive support from the Assam government to encourage digital users to learn how to stay safe online and take steps to report cyber crimes.”
The event was also attended by government stakeholders, students and staff of various universities, young entrepreneurs and bank officials.
It was supported by the IT department as well as the Meghalaya Police and Arunachal Pradesh Police.