இணையப் பாதுகாப்பு விழிப்புணர்வில் திருக்குறளின் அறவியல் சிந்தனைகள்

Ethical thoughts of Thirukkural in cybersecurity awareness

Abstract

The rapid development of information technology has brought about profound changes in every sphere of human life. In this modern era, the internet serves as an indispensable tool across various domains, including education, business, medicine, government services, finance, industry, media, personal communication, and personality development. While the internet has simplified life and transformed the world into a global village, it has also brought escalating cybersecurity challenges by the day. These include online fraud, password theft, privacy violations, cyberattacks, cyberbullying, the spread of fake news, phishing websites, and email scams. Particularly with the rapid growth of the digital generation, awareness of cybersecurity has become highly critical in today's times.

In this context, the primary objective of this study is to analyze how the ethical philosophies presented in the Thirukkural—the golden literature of the ancient Tamils—can guide cybersecurity awareness. Across his couplets, Thiruvalluvar emphasizes various virtues such as self-restraint, discipline, wisdom, truthfulness, abstaining from theft, dread of evil deeds, refraining from backbiting, avoiding harsh words, not speaking useless words, and gratitude. When comparing these ethical principles with modern internet usage policies, they emerge as foundational guidelines for ensuring cybersecurity. For instance, practices like respecting others' privacy, avoiding malicious links, not spreading useless information, and refraining from creating fake identities are heavily emphasized in today's cybersecurity manuals. Thus, this study highlights that the ethical concepts of the Thirukkural provide a robust moral framework for cybersecurity awareness.