India seeking global tie-ups to strengthen cybersecurity: report

Given India's cybersecurity needs, the National Democratic Alliance government has stepped up efforts to protect critical networks from such attacks, with international cooperation one of its focus areas, reports VCCircle.

As part of this strategy, Indian Computer Emergency Response Team, or CERT-In, is looking at security cooperation arrangements with its counterpart agencies in other countries that will share timely information to prevent cyberattacks and crimes. India has already inked such agreements with the US, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Malaysia and Singapore.

Also, CERT-In which is the national nodal agency responsible for cybersecurity and works under the ministry of electronics and information technology is in touch with global service and product providers for advance information regarding cyber threats and attacks.

The development assumes importance in the backdrop of the sensitive data leak of the Scorpene submarines being constructed in the country. Following the incident, the government fast-tracked setting up a National Cyber Coordination Centre and a Botnet and Malware Detection Centre with a spend of Rs900 crore and  Rs100 crore respectively.

''We are looking at security cooperation arrangements in the form of memorandums of understandings (MoUs) between CERT-In and its overseas counterpart agencies that will share information,'' said a senior government official requesting anonymity.

The government has also articulated a crisis management plan for countering cyberattacks and cyber terrorism for implementation by all ministries and departments of central government, state governments and their units in critical sectors.

A National Cyber Security Policy, 2013, was unveiled by the previous United Progressive Alliance government to safeguard physical and business assets of the country such as air defence systems, power infrastructure, nuclear plants and telecommunications networks.

The issue also assumes importance as there are 1.4 million users across central and state governments who use government email addresses - nic.in and gov.in -and other services such as internet, intranet and video conferencing. The government departments are dependent on data centres of National Informatics Centre.

Experts are aware about the clear and present danger.

''While earlier, developed nations were prime targets, Indian organisations have been barraged by attacks and are now on a par with other global companies at the receiving end of cyberattacks,'' PwC India, a consultancy wrote in a report.

In June, the Reserve Bank of India mandated all banks to immediately put in place a cybersecurity policy elucidating the strategy containing an appropriate approach to combat cyber threats, given the level of complexity of business and acceptable levels of risk.

With the rapid increase in number of Internet users in India, there is need for a secure cyberspace. The number of Internet users in the country stood at 371 million at the end of June this year.

In March 2015, the prime minister's office created the position of first cybersecurity chief and Gulshan Rai, national cyber security coordinator at the National Security Council Secretariat, was appointed. Rai used to head e-security and the cyber law division under the earlier ministry of communications and IT.