NEW DELHI: To counter
cyber attacks in economic and social infrastructure development, the
Indian government on Monday said it would set up a joint working group
to engage the private sector and will start four pilot projects for the
purpose.
"We hope to set up a permanent Joint Working Group
(JWG) on cyber security and will start four pilot projects," national
security advisor Shivshankar Menon said after releasing the JWG report
on engaging the private sector on cyber security.
The four pilot
projects will include setting up a testing laboratory, a test audit,
studying vulnerabilities of the critical information infrastructure and
establishing a multi-disciplinary centre for excellence.
The permanent JWG would be a roadmap for implementation of the recommendations of the group, said Menon.
Stating the domain was synonymous with enormous potential for damage, cyber security was important for all, he said.
"No one can do it alone. Each one needs the other because of the magnitude of the domain," said Menon.
Referring to recent incidents of misuse of social media (in fanning
communal hatred against people of Assam), the Menon said cyber security
was "a new phenomenon and India needs to learn how to deal with it".
"We need to be more secure than we are. But how to do that while
maintaining our freedom in a democracy is the challenge," said Menon.
The JWG has recommended a roadmap for public-private partnership on
cyber security which included institutional framework, capacity building
and developing standards and testing facilities for information
technology products.
Some of the key recommendations of the JWG
are creation of information sharing and analysis centres, training law
enforcing agencies in cyber crime investigation and forensics, promoting
awareness among public and setting up an institute of cyber security
professionals for testing and audit.
Earlier, the JWG had set up
eight sub-panels with government and private sector representatives to
flesh out the details of engaging the private sector in implementing
cyber security.
"The quicker we move the better as this collaboration is imperative," said Rajendra Pawar, former head of Nasscom.
Highlighting the challenges of cyber security, Virat Bhatia of the
Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry said cyber
attacks could come from non-state actors and it was difficult to gauge
the strength of such networks in other countries.
Asoke Mukerji,
special secretary in the external affairs ministry, stressed the need
for building capacity in making strategy, law and law enforcement and
upgrading the national computer emergency response team.
Source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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