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Posted by: Kevin Hernandez, Developer Relations Community Manager
As part of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, we celebrate Shrutirupa Banerjiee, Web GDE.
The web is a great tool for learning new skills, connecting with people around the world, digesting information, and using new technologies such as: Google Bard. However, threats can loom whenever you go online. Malware and social engineering attacks (also known as phishing) are examples of today’s cyberattacks that can steal data or gain access to your systems. Fortunately, people like Shrutirupa Banerjiee of Web GDE are working on ways to protect businesses and individuals from these threats. Shrutirupa started his career in the field through blockchain security and eventually transitioned into a malware research role as a senior security researcher. As a cybersecurity advocate, Shrutirupa shares the threats we face today and what steps we can take to keep ourselves safe.
Threats facing the web today
Shrutirupa is primarily interested in malware, especially malware that bides its time and stays in systems for months or even years. She explains: “These attacks get into your system and stay there for months while you can’t identify that there’s any malware or malicious program. If you’ve already gained trust, you can’t connect to a malicious server. A recent example of this type of attack is the SolarWinds attack. In this incident, the hacker succeeded in gaining unauthorized access to his SolarWinds network in 2019, in February 2020 he injected malicious code into SolarWinds software, and in March 2020 he The software unknowingly pushed his updates containing malicious code (Source: NPR). The malware was downloaded by 18,000 of his customers, compromising the data of companies and government agencies, including the Treasury Department and the Department of Defense.
One of Shrutirupa’s active missions is to bridge the gap between developers and cybersecurity professionals. By being aware of the new threats facing the web, developers can proactively protect businesses and consumers from malware attacks.
How to stay safe online
Shrutirupa recommends the following to prevent data breaches and attacks on your system:
- Before you click, consider the following: Be careful what you are downloading and do proper research on the source of the software. You can see what others are saying about this software on community sites like Quora and Reddit.
- Software updates: Software updates include patches, so make sure you’re up to date.
- Antivirus scanner: There are many free options that you can add to your computer to perform regular scans and make sure your system is working safely.
- Multi-factor authentication (MFA): This method provides additional security when logging on to a site and provides notification of unauthorized logins.
- developers and researchers work together to: Talk to a cybersecurity expert like Shrutirupa. Cybersecurity experts stay on top of new threats and can tell you what to prioritize as a developer.
Shrutirupa was also able to leverage Google technology and the GDE program to conduct education and testing in a safe environment. “Google has provided me with an environment where I can teach students who want to get started in cybersecurity and who want to develop in a secure way. There are also resources like Platform,” she says.
Cybersecurity Awareness Month is very important as people of all ages access the internet, and Shruthirupa believes that given the importance of threats, we need to be aware of them on a regular basis. She said: “Children, parents, and grandparents are all accessing the internet. Because of this, we need to stay vigilant about what we’re downloading and understand previous and new cybersecurity attacks to protect against them.”
Shrutirupa is on LinkedIn, GitHub, twitterYouTube.
The Google Developer Experts (GDE) program is a program for experienced technology professionals, influencers, and thought leaders who actively support developers, businesses, and the technology community by speaking at events and publishing content. A global network of
