While India's government has been trying to secure this rapidly growing Internet populace, they seeem to not be doing a great job.
It is a good time for Digital India, The Prime Minister's programme to get as many people connected as possible to empower them has been a big success and people are connecting to the Internet for the first time while you are reading this. With the increased penetration of technology and the Internet integrating into the infrastructure and lives of people, the cybersecurity threat was never bigger. While India's government has been trying to secure this rapidly growing Internet populace, they seeem to not be doing a great job.
"I was the founding CEO of NATGRID. My role was to conceive the organisation design, solution blueprint, solution architecture and creation of India's first hybrid organisation, where the government and private sector would be workings shoulder to shoulder, getting the buy-in from the stakeholders and managing the environment." said Ex-CEO of National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) Raghu Raman. "Technology has changed the doctrines and made our conventional superiority less if not totally irrelevant."
When asked about how prepared India is for cyberwar, Raman replied "We are far away from being even remotely prepared. We don't have 'Chip security', we don't control the internet conduits, we don't have indigenous platforms or operating systems, our data is in foreign clouds and we have virtually no capability in terms of the talent needed to secure and or mount offensive cyber operations."
Cybersecurity is often used as an excuse to violate citizen's privacy and when asked about the same, Raman said "It's a fine balance between using analytics for the good, better allocation of resources, identifying problems early or bad, invasion of privacy, squashing dissent, amongst others. The fact that analysis can unlock great value and hugely benefit our developing country is a given. At the same time, analysis without control comes with its own dangers that have to be safeguarded against."
Mr. Nandkumar Sarvade, CEO, Data Security Council of India, said, "Safeguarding cyberspace has become a key priority for governments, businesses and citizens across the world. Countries have to take appropriate steps in their respective jurisdictions to create required laws, endorse the implementation of necessary security practices, and continuously educate both corporate and home users about cyber security. It is a global problem that has to be addressed by all stakeholders jointly."
The main problem here seems to be awareness, both in terms of the general population and the government. Kaspersky Lab has found that three-quarters or 74% of Internet users would download a potentially malicious file, because they lack the 'cyber-savviness' they need to spot dangers online. The knowledge of the government doesn't seem to be much better with hundreds of the governments websites getting hacked every year by Pakistani hackers.
Mr. Altaf Halde, Managing Director - South Asia, Kaspersky Lab says, "Consumers are susceptible to scams and phishing attacks as they are less aware of security threats. Phishing is rampant in not just websites or email but also online games and music, social networks and chat services, all of which are heavily used by youngsters. Checking for signs of malicious activity, and knowing how to spot a phishing page or dangerous download option is vital."
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