A recent visit to a cyber cafe sent shivers down my spine. It was 10 pm and I found myself waiting in line while a room full of school aged children had taken over the cafe playing war games and using voice chat for hours together with no one to interrupt them or inform them that it was way past bed time.
It is true that the big bad world of the Internet leaves many avenues un policed. Designed as a platform for sharing information between universities, the Internet has graduated into a ubiquitous communication channel for organisations and individuals alike.
Over 25 per cent of all users are teenagers or pre-teens and this is segment is most vulnerable to a new definition of cyber-terror. Pornography, internet-stalkers and propagandists target defenceless children with malicious intent and often with devastating effect the world over.
What is worse is that parents have little or no control over an overpowering threat of the Internet on their children. In fact most often parents are not even aware of this intrusion or of the protection options available.
More than 28 per cent of Internet usage in India takes place in cyber cafes, where it becomes almost impossible to place any form of control over the user. In fact 25 per cent of Internet usage that happens from home goes largely uncontrolled.



What can responsible parents do to protect their children? What are the tools available to securing their children? Thankfully Captain Raghu Raman keeps an eye on all that.



Captain Raghu Raman, is the head of the Special Services Group and a consultant with over 15 years experience in security of information. In addition to several government agencies, Raman has served United Nations, where he was responsible for securing the information flow between UN Head Quarters and Mission control in Africa. His merits have been recognised with several awards including one by the UN Secretary General for services rendered.



Raman has been trained at the College of Telecommunication Engineering and specialised in missile guidance systems and secure communication links. In addition he has been trained at Foundstone and SCIP (US) on advanced hacking techniques and protection against competitive intelligence respectively.



He continues to be on the advisory panel of the UWC and has conducted training sessions for IT directors in UK and Italy. Raghu is currently on the panel of RSA (Singapore, San Jose), Forum Engelberg (Belgium, France), MDI (Delhi) ITBT forum (Maharashtra) as an authority on Information Security.



Captain Raman, advocates a three pronged approach to the this menace. At the top of this list is the formation of stringent laws directed at malicious abusers of the Internet who cause intentional harm to children. The policing authority should also launch campaigns to create awareness about possible crimes directed towards children.



The second important part of the solution is of generating large scale awareness in children through the use of evangelist-platforms which would be a body formed with the Internet security industry, media and educational institutions.



Thirdly, it is imperative that parents be made aware of the possible threats to their children. Parents are the first line of defence against this rapidly rising menace.



But when the Internet stands for a free and somewhat democratic forum for all to use, why should one have to police it? Captain Raman says: "We do not advocate policing out of sheer practicality since doing this is impossible. Instead we caution adults about the danger that is out there. It is like saying the streets of Bandra in the evening are dangerous since there are youngsters speeding down those lanes. Will I tell my child to be careful while crossing the road? Yes. Will I stop my child from using that street? No."



"In the same way we see ourselves advising people to be cautious. The Internet can push images towards you that you might not want to see. Sometimes they put your address on a mailing list without regards to the fact that you might not have asked for it. The public needs to be aware that the Internet has the power to solicit young minds which might not be mature enough to decide what they want and don’t want."



Captain Raman has even formed recommendations to parents which include the following: · Be aware of the Internet. If your child is an Internet user, you must also familiarise yourself with it. · Know the threats to your child. Read about the possible threats to your child. Ironically the best place to find information is the Internet itself. · Talk openly to your child. Ensure that there is an open atmosphere where the children can discuss net issues. Encourage discussions and offer informed solutions to the child.



Captain Raman adds: "The penetration of Internet has grown to such a large extent that there is a computer in practically every Indian home. While this threatened the existence of cyber cafes, the cafes are still in operation since people choose to surf the net from outside their homes. There is some extent of social policing at home while the cyber cafes offer enclosed cubicles to users."



He concludes: "All kinds of information is out there. Just make sure you know what your children are susceptible to." Aye, aye captain!