Cisco to help fortify India's cyber security

While demonetisation has greatly increased the volume of digital payments in India, it had also heightened the threat of cyber attacks.

In this context, US technology services company Cisco has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government's Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) to counter the threat of cyber attacks in the country.

CERT-In which is a nodal agency under the ministry of electronics and IT, deals with cyber security threats such as hacking and phishing and is also engaged in strengthening security-related defence of the Indian Internet domain.

''In light of rapidly evolving cyber tactics and shared risks in cyberspace, the need to work side-by-side with industry partners on pressing cyber-challenges becomes important. Our collaboration with Cisco looks to enhance the security of India's digital infrastructure and speed up digitalisation of India'' electronics and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, The Hindustan Times reported.

Cisco plans to open a security operations centre (SOC) in Pune, a cyber range lab in Gurgaon and a security and trust office (S&TO) to India's enhance cyber security capabilities. 

The announcement formed part of the $100-million investment, which chairman and ex-CEO John Chambers had announced earlier in the year.

Under the MoU, Cisco and CERT-In would establish a threat intelligence sharing program wherein personnel from Cisco and CERT-In would work together to address digital threats and work on new approaches to enhance cybersecurity. 

Cisco's ''Active Threat Analytics'' offered round the clock monitoring and advanced-analytics capabilities along with industry-leading threat intelligence and expert investigators to rapidly detect advanced threats.

 ''As India digitizes, security will become fundamental to seizing the unprecedented opportunities for businesses, cities and citizens. Cisco is committed to enable a digital-ready infrastructure and security everywhere. Today's cybersecurity announcements reaffirm Cisco's long-term commitment to India,'' added Dinesh Malkani, president, Cisco India and SAARC.