The government of India has taken a very serious note of the growing incidence of cyber attacks on various institutions in recent months. Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kiran Rijiju said that the government was taking several policy measures to curb cyber criminals and was ready to meet the threat.
“At a time when cyber-attacks are growing and cyber criminals are targeting organizations, we must not compromise when it comes to security, Kiran Rijiju said on Friday on the occasion of inauguration of the ninth annual summit on Cyber and Network Security in New Delhi.
“We have become modern now. Earlier recruitment in terrorist organizations was difficult. Technology has made this process easier. The cyber war is real and we have to understand that we are into it. We are bound to face more challenges but we are beginning to get prepared for it”, IANS report published in NDTV quoted him as saying.
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The Ministry of Electronics and IT and apex industry lobby Assocham on Friday jointly held the summit “Cyber 3.0-Bridging people, process and technology” which saw participation of dignitaries and representatives from different countries. Rijiju talked about the threats of the cyber world, the security measures in place and discussed what needs to be done to minimize the effects of cybercrimes. He also appreciated Assocham for bringing “important people together, including people from the government”.
“There is a closer synergy which will be vital for our endeavor to make India and other countries more secure,” Rijiju added.
India has seen a definite spike in cyber crimes in recent days that have ranged from siphoning money from accounts to recruiting people for the ISIS. The country recent stood among the top 5 nations to be attacked by ransomware. In a recent debate in the Loksabha, Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir had reportedly said that 5693 cyber security-related cases were registered across the country in 2013, 9622 in 2014 and 11,592 in 2015. The major issue faced by the government is a lack of trained manpower, although it is taking steps to rectify it.
The government is taking several initiatives to tackle the cybercrime issues with the help of international collaboration. India and US recently inked a joint statement to draft a framework for the bilateral cyber relationship between the two countries within the next two months.
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Minister of State for Electronics and IT P.P. Chaudhary said that as the country is learning new ways in cyber technology, it has also become prone to more online dangers.
“We are not addressing the problems of cyber-related crimes. The impact of cybercrime is more than that of a nuclear weapon. We need to address the problems with respect to cybercrimes effectively and it can crush the economy of the world,” Chaudhary told the audience.
The day-long event also saw sessions on emerging technologies in cyber and mobile security, India’s response to cyber-attacks and protection of critical infrastructure of the country.