<p> Cybersecurity, projected to be a $200 billion market in the next five years, came under focus for more than just data protection as students of IIIT-B took the stage to highlight the problems posed by fake news.</p>.<p>Five students of International Institute of Information Technology-Bengaluru (IIIT-B), who took part in the Hague India Cyber Security Summer School in the Netherlands, spoke about the rising threat of fake news in the era of social media.</p>.<p>Shashank Motepalli, one of the participants in the workshop on cybersecurity, said social media users should be warned about misinformation, often spread deliberately, in the form of news.</p>.<p>“In the Indian ecosystem, the huge amount of information in local languages has made it difficult to weed out fake news,” he said.</p>.<p>Vadari Dakshayani, another student, stressed the need to understand the ramifications of fake news and the need to control it.</p>.<p>“Cybersecurity is also about ethics and policy. It is important to spread awareness on the need to evaluate the information we get on social media,” she said.</p>.<p>Shashank said there was a need for developing a cybersecurity policy and balance it in such a way that the rules do not curtail freedom<br />of speech. He noted that unscrupulous elements can target individuals on social media to build an echo-chamber where opposing views are blocked.</p>
<p> Cybersecurity, projected to be a $200 billion market in the next five years, came under focus for more than just data protection as students of IIIT-B took the stage to highlight the problems posed by fake news.</p>.<p>Five students of International Institute of Information Technology-Bengaluru (IIIT-B), who took part in the Hague India Cyber Security Summer School in the Netherlands, spoke about the rising threat of fake news in the era of social media.</p>.<p>Shashank Motepalli, one of the participants in the workshop on cybersecurity, said social media users should be warned about misinformation, often spread deliberately, in the form of news.</p>.<p>“In the Indian ecosystem, the huge amount of information in local languages has made it difficult to weed out fake news,” he said.</p>.<p>Vadari Dakshayani, another student, stressed the need to understand the ramifications of fake news and the need to control it.</p>.<p>“Cybersecurity is also about ethics and policy. It is important to spread awareness on the need to evaluate the information we get on social media,” she said.</p>.<p>Shashank said there was a need for developing a cybersecurity policy and balance it in such a way that the rules do not curtail freedom<br />of speech. He noted that unscrupulous elements can target individuals on social media to build an echo-chamber where opposing views are blocked.</p>