Cybersecurity for Beginners | Techpragna

Millions of people in India use the internet daily for banking, shopping, education, entertainment, social media and for many other purposes. The Internet is very helpful for all of this but along with these there are also cyber threats. Cybercriminals only target those people who don’t follow security practices. So we need to understand everything about cybersecurity then only we can protect our personal data and privacy.

This blog is to understand the cybersecurity threats in India. We will tell you what is meant by cybersecurity and what are the problems you will face and how to protect yourself. If you are new and want to keep your data safe and secure then this blog is best suitable for you.

Table of Contents

1. What Is Cybersecurity?
   
   
2. Why Cybersecurity Matters in India
   
   
3. Common Cyber Threats Faced by Indians
   
   
4. Strong Passwords & Multi‑Factor Authentication
   
   
5. Safe Browsing and Email Practices
   
   
6. Mobile & App Security Tips
   
   
7. Social Media & Online Identity Protection
   
   
8. What to Do in Case of a Cyber Incident
   
   

1. What Is Cybersecurity?

Cybersecurity refers to the practices, tools and processes which protect computers, networks, data and users from unauthorized attacks,damage or theft. It is going to cover hardware, software, procedures and human behaviour.

The core of the cybersecurity is:

Cybersecurity makes sure that your sensitive data is safe and will not be disclosed to any unauthorized persons.

It makes sure that your data is accurate and with no changes.

You can access the systems and services anytime when you needed.

• Confidentiality: Cybersecurity makes sure that your sensitive data is safe and will not be disclosed to any unauthorized persons
• Integrity: It makes sure that your data is accurate and with no changes.
  
• Availability: You can access the systems and services anytime when you needed
  

In simple words cybersecurity is applicable to everything from your personal phone to government infrastructure.

In the Indian context, cybersecurity applies to everything from your personal smartphone to government infrastructure.

2. Why Cybersecurity Matters in India

India is growing very fast in digital landscape:

The India Cybersecurity market is growing very fast and estimated projections show that India has a strong future.

In India 369 million malware detections happened in 2024. If we look at the average it is  720 per minute.

India contributes a major portion of global email based threats 6.9% and ranks third globally for malware detections according to Trend Micros 2025 report.

In India many organizations are planning to increase cybersecurity budgets up to 93%.

As we have services like UPI, Aadhaar, online banking and e-commerce are used by hundreds of millions. Data theft, fraud and identity misuse is a serious risk for everybody. So cybersecurity is necessary for everybody.

3. Common Cyber Threats Faced by Indians

Below are the typical threats Indian people should be aware of:

You will be receiving fake emails, SMS or websites links stating they are from government agencies and trick you to provide credentials.

They will publish fake QR codes or applications to intercept your transactions.

Cyber criminals will hack your phone and will receive your OTP

They will send malicious software and it will corrupt your files or it will lock it until you pay them.

They use your personal data like PAN or Aadhaar card to open accounts, take loans or commit fraud.

They pretend to be your support and will try to get your sensitive information.

Malware types like Trojans and worms are mostly common in India according to the research.

4. Strong Passwords & Multi‑Factor Authentication

Hackers can hack easily when we have a week password so how should we protect from that:

We should use a long password and use a combination of uppercase, lowercase, digits and symbols.

We should not keep the password which is very easy to guess like our birthday date, marriage anniversary or birthday.

We need to use a password manager like kesspass or lastpass to generate strong passwords.

We should not use the same password in multiple accounts.

We need to enable multi factor authentication wherever possible like banking, email and social media. And also we need to add a second factor like SMS or authenticator apps.

According to the study many Indians still reuse passwords and will not keep any dedicated password manager due to their trust concerns.

5. Safe Browsing and Email Practices

Below are the habits you need to follow to reduce risk while browsing and using email:

We should always check for https url and padlock icon in browser before entering any sensitive information.

We should not click on any suspicious links in email or messages even if they look real also.

We should us adblocker or script blocker to avoid malicious popups.

We should always clear our cache, history and cookies on a regular basis.

We should always update our browsers and plugins.

We should be cautious while opening any attachments and should open only from our trusted ones.

We need to use spam filters and mark phishing emails as spam so that the providers can improve filtering..

6. Mobile & App Security Tips

Our phones hold a lot of sensitive data and private date so we should treat them securely:

We need to install apps only from official stores like google play store or Apple app store.

When we are installing any applications we should check for app permissions and don’t give any unnecessary access like sms, contacts or mic without justification.

We should always update our operating system and applications.

We should use screen lock like PIN password, fingerprint or face unlock.

We should not root or jailbreak our device because it makes it more vulnerable.

We should use mobile security or antivirus apps from a reputed provider.

We should not use public wifi for sensitive operations. 

We should always logout from financial apps when the work is done and also can clear the session data.

7. Social Media & Online Identity Protection

Your social media and online identity can be used against you if you are not careful. Here’s how to protect:

We should always limit sharing our personal information and avoid posting details like our full address, phone number or any identification numbers.

We should keep our profiles private and should restrict who can see our posts.

We should be careful while accepting friend requests or followers because attackers may create fake accounts.

We should not put any pictures in which we reveal our location or assets.

We should delete our old accounts which we don’t use.

We should be careful while giving permissions to quizzes, apps or any fun games because they can extract our data.

We should always monitor our name and other information in the account which is publicly visible.

If any impersonation or misuse is there then we need to report it to platform or for local cybercrime cell.

8. What to Do in Case of a Cyber Incident

When we are following all the precautions still cyber incidents can happen then what we should do?

We should not panic and be calm and assess

We should immediately disconnect the internet from our device to prevent more damage.

We should change our password.

We should use antivirus or malware removal tools to scan our system.

We need to check for any unauthorized transactions happened and immediately report them to our bank or service providers.

We need to report to the cybercrime department.We need to inform our friends and family members because their accounts are also at risk.

We need to enable extra security measures like MFA or account recovery tools

We need to learn from the incident how it happened and how I allowed it happen and should not repeat that in future.