New Delhi, Jan 28 (IANS): Aiming to raise awareness and promote data protection practices, top cyber security experts have advised there is a serious need to be alert and aware about how data is collected, used and shared and what steps need to be taken to better manage personal information.

"Be careful about what information you send via email. Ask yourself, could there be an implication if someone was to access this information," said Sunil Sharma, Managing Director - Sales, India and SAARC, Sophos.

"The risks of data loss grow with more and more people working outside of your network. Therefore, the need to protect your business roadmap, your product database, your customer files and your reputation is important now, more than ever," Sharma told IANS on the ocassion of Data Privacy Day that aims to empower individuals and encourage businesses to respect privacy and safeguard data.

"Data Privacy Day is a timely reminder for organisations that maintaining privacy of customers and employees data is a continuous work and must be defended against ever-evolving cyber threats," added Surendra Singh, Country Director - Indian and SAARC, Forcepoint.

"Cybersecurity needs to be more than skin-deep, and in order to outpace the evolution of attacks, must look to adopt differentiated approach- such as behaviour based cybersecurity -- to stop breaches before they occur," Singh added.