National Cybersecurity Strategy in final stages

India is in the final stage of clearing the National Cybersecurity Strategy in the aftermath of increasing cyber-attacks and threats from nation-state actors against India.

Key Facts

• India has become one of the most cyber-attacked nations across the world. About 4 million malwares are detected here on daily basis.
• India also has a large attack surface comprising of 1.15 billion phones and more than 700 million Internet users.
• This, India have been working on the “National Cybersecurity Strategy” for last two years, which is in the cabinet for the final approval.

India’s rank in Global Cybersecurity Index

India has managed to avoid any major cyber-attacks or threats. As a result, in Global Cybersecurity Index 2021, India has jumped from 47 to 10.

Challenges with policy

As the policy is implemented, country will face the challenge of addressing cyber-skilling. As per report, there will be around 1.5 million job vacancies in cybersecurity in India by 2025.

Cyber-Shikshaa programme

Microsoft and Data Security Council of India (DSCI) have invested in the ‘Cyber-Shikshaa programme’. This programme will help in creating a pool of skilled women security professionals in India. Microsoft is also coordinating with MeitY to skill security leaders in cybersecurity.

National Cyber Security Strategy 2020

National Cyber Security Strategy 2020 was drafted with the aim of improving cyber awareness and cybersecurity by means of stringent audits. Under the policy, empanelled cyber auditors will carefully look at the security features of organisations. To reinforce the idea that cyber-attacks can happen on regular basis, table-top cyber crisis management exercises will be conducted.

Month: Current Affairs - October, 2021