A large part of the Indian economy today rides on digital networks. Broadband connectivity is provided by the optical fibre network called BharatNet which has already reached 100,000 panchayats in rural areas and is growing. India is also getting ready to launch 5G which will unleash a boom in connectivity. With the coming of the Internet of things, it is expected that tens of billions of devices will be connected to the Internet by 2020. E-commerce is expanding rapidly with foreign companies occupying the top slots in the sensitive market.
With this feverish pace of digitization comes the security risk to networks, devices and individuals. Cyber security is an ever-growing national security challenge for India. With the pace of digitization accelerating, India needs to pay urgent attention to cyber security challenges.
So how does cyber security work in India? Here are 5 points to understand it from Arvind Gupta’s new book, How India Manages Its National Security. The book explains with great clarity and thoroughness the concept and operation of India’s national security apparatus.
1. India is dependent on imported products and software apps which may have inbuilt vulnerabilities. Indian infrastructure for testing software and equipment is virtually non-existent.
2. India was among the first countries to enact a law for regulating the use of ICT for e-commerce purposes.
3. In 2004, the government created the CERT-In, a technical body under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY).
4. In the evolution of cyber security institutions in India, 2013 was an important year as MEITY announced a comprehensive, forward-looking National Cyber Security Policy (NCSP) for five years.
5. Also in 2013, a post of National Cyber Security Coordinator (NCSC) was created with the aim of improving coordination and providing strategic guidance to other departments, by the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS)
