Making a Computer Virus is Not Against the Law - Surya Aezowie

Surya Aezowie, young Indian Cyber Security Expert shares his Cyber Security story in this interview with NELOC News

NELOC News: Can we meet you sir?

Guest: I am an Indian cyber security expert, trainer, author, mentalist and 24 year old entrepreneur. I am the founder and CEO of Aezowie Infotech Services Private Limited, a company that provides network security, application development and designing services to corporations. At the age of 16, I developed my first computer software for my school, later I was failed in 12th boards but turned out to be successful.
 

NELOC News: How does I.T and Cyber security define entrepreneurship for you?

Guest: Right now, the cyber security related business is growing drastically and cyber entrepreneurship is a new source of economic growth and development. I love Cyber security and from childhood I wanted to be like Steve Jobs. He is my motivation. So Cyber Security & Entrepreneurship is a perfect combination for me.
 

NELOC News: How did your journey into Cyber Security begin?

Guest: Most individuals go straight out of college into the cybersecurity field with degrees in computer and information science or other technical degree programs. But my journey began when I developed my first computer software during my school days in class 11th. The next year, I failed in my class 12th Board Exams but that did not deter me as I was buoyed by the success of my software. It’s a long story but in the end I turned out to be a successful owner of my own company.

NELOC News: Recently, Twitter was hacked and accounts of prominent persons were compromised. How does this affect Cyber security for other users?

Guest: These kind of incidents occur not because of account hacking but due to user hacking. In our field, we call it social engineering. See, humans are the weakest point in the cyber world. In this recent case the hackers did not use their access to target any major institutions or infrastructure — only asking for Bitcoin, instead. But the attack concerned security experts because it suggested the hackers could easily have caused far more havoc.

 

NNI: In leading an I.T Company, what is leadership to you? Is leadership a mix of different skills?

Guest: For me leadership means understanding, motivating and organizing other people to reach a shared goal. Whether you are in a management position or leading a project, leadership skills require you to motivate others, often on schedule, to complete a series of tasks. Leadership is not just one skill but a combination of several different abilities that work together.

NNI: In what ways have you managed leadership positions with other duties?

Guest: I believe everything is connected and there is no professional or personal work/thing. I just enjoy what I am doing and due to this mindset, things become easier for me.

NNI: Are there any laws determining the legality of Computer Viruses? To what extent are these Viruses legal?

Guest: Well distributing a virus to others is against the Law. The Computer Misuse Act is the law which covers this area. In the United States also, the distribution of a virus that affects computers used by government or by financial institutions is a federal crime under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. But making a computer virus isn't against the law. However, if that virus spreads deliberately or by mistake to other computers, you have breached the law and you could be held liable for any damages it causes.

NELOC News: We are facing the reality of a completely digital world. Does this mean an increased breach in data security? To what extent is this breach and how can it be curbed?

Guest: Over the last few years we have seen a drastic change in how individuals and businesses use technology to achieve their objectives. According to a global survey by the Ponemon Institute and IBM Security, the average probability that an organization will experience a data breach has increased to 27.7 percent compared with last year's 25.6 percent. With digital transformation, everything became easier, more accessible and less time consuming but for sure probability of data breach is also increasing with it. I think the best weapon to fight with this is the knowledge and awareness.
 

NELOC News: In your opinion, can we achieve a fully cyber secured world?

Guest: Frankly speaking, it is impossible because the most secure system is the one that is never built. So basically everything is hackable, but it’s depends on how much time, money and resources someone is ready to invest to do so. If you really wanted to make your data 100% safe, you would have to back it up to a hard disk, disconnect it from any computer, put it in a safe, and then bury the safe in an unknown place. Only then could you be rest assured that the information was safe from hackers.

NNI: How do national (India and any other countries) and international legislations affect cyber security?

Guest: Most nation’s cyber laws are pretty strong whether you talk about India or any other county but the problem is that our legal system and police force don’t know much about how to deal with cyber criminals. So firstly our governments need to ensure that these people will be well educated about cyber security and related issues. And yes strong international legislations are very much required because in the cyber world there are no boundaries between nations. Within this global cyber security culture, enhancing security and ensuring data protection and privacy while enhancing access and commerce is important.

Read also: Biography of Actress Kehinde Bankole

 

NNI: What is your advice to individuals and youths especially who have interests in cyber security and the IT space?

Guest: I think with an ever-expanding scope, cybersecurity presents the ultimate potential for growth, both in your career path and for opportunities to learn. Practically, cyber security is the field of unlimited growth but to become an expert in this field you need to understand that it is not the certifications or college degree that makes you an expert. Any individual who wants to become a good cybersecurity professional must focus to understand the inner mechanism of technologies and organizations as much as possible. Remember experts persevere and they focus. Security experts are no different.