The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has been allocated a sum of Rs 400 crores under Cyber Security projects and Rs 225 crores for Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In).
CERT-In is the national bureau for event response, including prediction, evaluation, and alerts for cybersecurity breaches. Its responsibilities include increasing security awareness among the online community, offering technical support, and providing guidance on how to recover from computer security incidents.
The increase in the sum from previous year's Rs 180 crores shows that the government seems to be more focused on the potential threats and is likely to be working on staying cautious to protect primarily its agencies and the Public sector enterprises (PSUs).
It is almost impossible to ignore the cyber attacks that the Indian government faced, such as hacking of IT systems at AIIMS and other public sector institutions, during 2022. PSUs as well as private institutions typically contain a lot of sensitive information and therefore it is as important for them to protect themselves from such a threat which could have serious implications.
In the past, government has taken a comprehensive approach to address cybersecurity challenges in the country. The National Cyber Security Policy (2013) and the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000, provide the legal framework for cybersecurity initiatives.
The Cyber Swachhta Kendra (CSK) works to create secure cyberspace by identifying botnet infections in India, alerting the users, facilitating the cleaning process, and securing systems to avoid future infections. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) Cyber and Information Security (C&IS) division deals with issues related to cybercrime, cybersecurity, National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID), and National Information Security Policy & Guidelines (NISPG). NATGRID is an integrated master database structure that links databases from several security agencies within the GoI, while NISPG safeguards information throughout its lifecycle.
The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) is established to deal with all types of cybercrime in the country. I4C has seven components, each having distinct responsibilities, such as Cybercrime Ecosystem Management Unit, National Cybercrime Training Centre (NCTC), National Cyber Crime Research and Innovation Centre, and National Cybercrime Threat Analytics Unit (TAU).
The National Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC) and National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) are other initiatives taken by the government to address cybersecurity challenges.
(Edited by : C H Unnikrishnan)
First Published: Feb 1, 2023 4:18 PM IST
