Policy on cybersecurity soon in Karnataka: Deputy CM Ashwath Narayan

Bengaluru: With the digital transaction expanding its scope each passing day, cybersecurity has become a subject of paramount importance. In this backdrop, the Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for IT, BT and Science and Technology, Dr C N Ashwath Narayan, has announced the government coming up with a relevant cybersecurity policy.

He stated this while he unveiled the mascots of cybersecurity on Monday in an event held at Vidhana Soudha, as part of the inauguration of celebrating October as cybersecurity month which is being observed by the state for the first time. "Cybersecurity is gaining increased focus in the government in view of the rapid adoption of IT (Information Technology) solutions for delivering public services. Whilst this has many benefits the increased adoption of IT also comes associated with significant cyber risks. The new cybersecurity policy would be framed to address the needs of the citizens, industry, students as well as the state government," Narayan emphasised.

He further said, "As per an FBI report in the US, the number of complaints from cyber-attacks has increased up to 4,000 per day, a 400 percent increase compared to before the pandemic. Apart from Phishing attacks, there is a surge in malware attacks and ransomware attacks. Cybercriminals have launched thousands of "fraud portals" in the guise of collecting donations to the cause of coronavirus."

"The report further elaborates that India stands third in the world among the top 20 countries in internet-related crimes. Apart from Phishing attacks, defacement of websites and DDoS attacks have become prominent threats. The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has also put out an advisory that explained about the coronavirus pandemic based cyber-attacks. The majority of the attacks are done via phishing emails, malicious advertisements on websites, and third-party apps and programs. Attacks on computers, routers, and unprotected home networks in the present work from the home situation are also on the rise," he added.

The deputy chief minister explained that Bengaluru being an IT hub will naturally be a favourite target of cybercriminals. National Cyber Security Co-ordinator Lt. Gen. (Dr.) Rajesh Pant spoke about the importance of cybersecurity and the threats to India's critical IT infrastructure from varied sources.

As part of this month-long programme on cybersecurity, sessions for senior government officials on cyber risks are scheduled and will be attended by bureaucrats and senior police officials. CySecK is the Karnataka state government's CoE (Center of Excellence) in Cyber Security, housed in the IISc (Indian Institute of Science) campus, with IISc as the anchor institute and KSCST (Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology) as the implementation agency. CySecK was setup by KITS (Karnataka Innovation and Technology Society).