Indian Perry Mason solves cyber crime
By Suneetha

Lawyer in cyber-world turning to investigating crime and a techie at that! Powerful blend of crime solving skills this, and Pattathil Dhanya Menon is the stuff combining Sherlock Homes, Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple and Perry Mason with a computer science degree. Dhanya’s credentials are impressive. Techgoss met her and here is our conversation.

Techgoss (TG): Tell us about yourself, your hometown, your education and your techie background
Dhanya Menon(PDM): I am based at Thrissur in Kerala, married, blessed with one son.

I am a graduate in Commerce, with the following additional qualifications.

B Tech (Computer Science), Open University British Columbia, Canada.
E- MBA (HR), National Institute Of Business Management, Chennai.
MBA – Retail Mgmt, National Institute of Business Management, Chennai
Diploma in Cyber Law, Asian School of Cyber Law, Pune
Post Graduate Diploma in Cyber Law, ICFAI, Hyderabad.
Cyber Crime Investigator, Asian School of Cyber Law, Pune
Certificate in Intellectual Property Rights, Asian School Of Cyber Law, Pune
 
I have been investigating various cases in India and abroad since 2006 and been a consultant on Cyber law and IPR on Cyberspace since 2006. I have handled various training programs for corporates and Govt. Depts since 2006.

TG: How did you wander into the cyber investigator role?
PDM: I happened to attend a seminar on Cyber Crime and Cyber Law at Cochin in 2004. It was hosted by Asian School of Cyber Laws and I was sent by KITCO, Cochin for the same. One Ms. Gils K Jose from KITCO is the person who asked me to attend the seminar and assured me that it would be interesting. The seminar got me hooked.
 
My grandfather Mr. P.B.Menon, Senior Advocate at The Supreme Court of India, persuaded me to study further in this line.

TG: Is that one of your jobs or do you wear other hats?
PDM: This is my profession. And I work as a consultant in the related fields for the clients who approach me. For e.g.: information security consultant, intellectual property related issues on the cyber space, security audit and IT policy.

TG: How do your techie skills help this role?
PDM: It helps in a lot of ways. But currently the major requisites for this job according to me are curiosity and an urge to constantly learn and update.

TG: What is your typical day like?
PDM: Absolutely unscheduled. No time frame and no geographical boundaries.

TG: What is the sort of clients that approach you? Are they local?
PDM: From individuals to corporates come to me for various problems and I have local clients too.

TG: Do you have other staff? And how do you handle the finances?
PDM: I have an office infra and person on the security implementation and audit side. There is no fixed fee. It differs from case to case.

TG: what is your role with the local police? Have they approached you for help?
PDM: I have various Govt departments consulting me on different issues. But I believe in following the decorum of confidentiality to my clients. And my opinion is that the police department is gearing up very fast to deal with issues of this kind in our state.

TG: What in your opinion are the things we should be careful about on the web?
PDM:  You need to follow certain tips, and remember these are only tips not rules.

The user id and password are your personal property keep them safe and maintain them well.
Change passwords frequently
Use hard to guess passwords
Don’t trust internet
Don’t disclose personal information on the web.
There is no authentication on the web
Be cautious when making friends online
Do not open mails from unknown sources
Use antivirus and update them regularly
Update operating system and web browser regularly
What you post online is not private; it can be seen by others.
 

TG: Have you helped any techies/techie organisations?
PDM: I have helped certain organization in devising their IT policy, formulating email security policies and implementing the same and in training their staff on the subject etc.

In a world where cyber crime has taken extremely dangerous dimensions and techie know-how alone doesn’t help matters, Dhanya shows the way.