Is India doing enough for cybersecurity?

The cases of cybersecurity breach have increased considerably with digitisation picking up in recent times. Increased hacking, cyberstalking, online gambling, financial frauds and child pornography have increased apprehensions of using digital means of living. In such a state, it is crucial for us to evaluate where the country stands when it comes to the steps being taken for cybersecurity. 

A topic of debate of late, cybersecurity in India is a pressing issue and might turn up as a topic of group discussion during your admission or placement interviews. So, let us assess the current situation and see what the country is doing for cybersecurity.

For the motion

Let us first look at the steps that the government has taken for cybersecurity. 

• Currently, India holds the 23rd position in the UN Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) 2017 which isn’t great but is better than most countries. The country aims to be in top 10 in the coming years.
• The National Technical Research organization (NRTO), constituted in 2004, provides technical intelligence for internal and external security in the cyberspace.
• In order to reach global compliance security, India is working with the US on cybersecurity for comprehensive regulation.
• India has a robust Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) which notifies concerns relating to cyber-attacks and analyzes the vulnerability.
• The pertinent legislation, National Cyber Security Policy, 2013 is proactively followed aiming to protect the public and private infrastructure from cyber attacks.
• The Secretary of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Ajay Sawhney, revealed that the government has joined hands with the Data Security Council of India to establish a National Centre of Excellence in order to accelerate innovation and to make India an attractive market for cybersecurity.  
• The Ministry of Home Affairs recently implemented the “Cyber-Crime Prevention against Women & Children” scheme which aims to reduce and prevent cybercrimes against children and women by implementing stricter laws and policies. The government will also conduct various programmes to spread awareness about the kind of cyber threats that how people can deal with them.

Against the motion

Now that we know what all is being done, let us take a glimpse at the other side of the coin.

• India has a meagre force of 10,000 cyber soldiers, whereas China which is a major threat in cybersecurity space has trained 10 lakh cybersecurity experts.
• According to Symantec, a major cybersecurity centre, India is ranked amongst the top three countries in the world when it comes to malware attacks and phishing.
• There is still a lack of awareness of cybersecurity laws. A good proportion of our country still gets fooled by fake calls eliciting bank account details. 
• In October 2016, Indian banks suffered data security breaches. It was one of the biggest cyberattacks in India. All laws, legislations and forces failed to stop it from happening.
• Rampant usage of Chinese smartphones and other electronic devices which are a storehouse of fishy malware and viruses pose a big danger to secure transactions.
• According to a study by Akamai Technologies, India is among the top targets for web application attackers.
• Increasing online gambling these days with IPL have reported higher incidents of bank account hacking which are going unchecked in India.  
• With more and more inclusion of machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, data analytics and Internet of Things (IoT), cyberspace is turning into a complex domain, which is bound to give rise to techno-legal issues.  

Conclusion

Though India is taking steps towards strengthening cybersecurity, the country needs to invest more in cyberspace on a war-footing. As much as India is working on making the country digital, it needs to work on cyber safety. A multipronged approach to fighting cybercrime involving the stakeholders: government, financial institutions along with people can go a long way in nipping the evil.