By: Rahul Devulapalli
The frequent attempts at breaching State government portals by the global network of hackers may pave the way for Telangana’s first State-level cyber security policy. Citing last July’s shocker where a MeeSeva site was attacked and Rs. 1.5 crore swindled by Nigerian hackers, Telangana IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao said that their government wanted to be a role model when it came to protecting their cyber space.“We are building our own cyber security policy and this is a top thrust area of the government,” said IT Minister on Tuesday at the first edition of the Annual Cyber Security Conclave which began in the city. He invited the IT industry members to aid the State government with their inputs for the policy.
He said that the government was collaborating with the C.R. Rao Advanced Institute of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science and Carnegie Institute to create a pool of ‘cyber security warriors’.
Whether it was the government to citizen initiatives, inter-department coordination using cloud computing, storing citizens’ data online or running Internet of Things (IoT), cyber threat was real in every step, he said.
Mr. Rao pointed out that financial services and insurance industry were the most vulnerable to cyber attacks.
The keynote speaker of the event, ex-IPS officer, Nandkumar Saravade, CEO, Data Security Council of India (DSCI), said India could take the lead in the world cyber security problems.
“Not just India, we can secure the world by ensuring good processes. We have a million engineers graduating every year and even if a fraction of them take up cyber security, then we can meet the global demand.”
Recollecting some infamous global hacking episodes in recent past, Mr. Saravade said that hacking was now a well organised crime.
Cyberabad Police Commissioner C.V. Anand pitched for increased awareness and better mechanisms to fight cyber attacks at every level.
Bharani Kumar Aroll, Secretary, Society for Cyberabad Security Council (SCSC), spoke regarding the activities and vision of the council.
Source: The Hindu