Cyber Security

• Cybercrime is a crime that involves a computer and a network. The computer may have been used to commit the crime and in many cases, it is also the target. Cybercrime may threaten a person or a nation’s security and financial health. In a computing context, security includes both cyber security and physical security.
• Currently, almost 70 categories of cyber security products have been identified. These include products used for data loss prevention, security analytics, big data analytics, web security, antivirus, mobile payments, mobile data protection, cloud security, spam-free email solutions, among others.

National Cyber Security Policy, 2013

• In light of the growth of the IT sector in the country, the National Cyber Security Policy of India 2013 was announced by the Indian Government in 2013 yet its actual implementation is still missing. As a result fields like e-governance and e-commerce are still risky and may require cyber insurance in the near future.

Its important features include:

• To build secure and resilient cyberspace.
• Creating a secure cyber ecosystem, generate trust in IT transactions.
• 24 x 7 NATIONAL CRITICAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION CENTER (NCIIPC)
• Indigenous technological solutions (Chinese products and reliance on foreign software)
• Testing of ICT products and certifying them. Validated products
• Creating a workforce of 500,000 professionals in the field
• Fiscal Benefits for the businessman who accepts standard IT practices, etc.

Countering cyber crimes is a coordinated effort on the part of several agencies in the Ministry of Home Affairs and in the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.

The law enforcement agencies such as the Central Bureau of Investigation, The Intelligence Bureau, state police organizations and other specialised organizations such as the National Police Academy and the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) are the prominent ones who tackle cyber crimes.

National Cyber Response Centre – Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERTIn)

• CERT-In monitors Indian cyberspace and coordinates alerts and warnings of imminent attacks and detection of malicious attacks among public and private cyber users and organizations in the country.
• It maintains a 24×7 operations centre and has working relations/collaborations and contacts with CERTs, all over the world; and Sectoral CERTs, public, private, academia, Internet Service Providers and vendors of Information Technology products in the country.

National Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NIIPC)

• NIIPC is a designated agency to protect the critical information infrastructure in the country.
• It gathers intelligence and keeps a watch on emerging and imminent cyber threats in strategic sectors including National Defence.
• They would prepare threat assessment reports and facilitate sharing of such information and analysis among members of the Intelligence, Defence and Law enforcement agencies with a view to protecting these agencies’ ability to collect, analyze and disseminate intelligence.

National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC)

• National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) is an organisation of the Government of India created under Sec 70A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (amended 2008).
• It is designated as the National Nodal Agency in respect of Critical Information Infrastructure Protection.
• NCIIPC has broadly identified the following as ‘Critical Sectors’–

1. Power & Energy
2. Banking, Financial Services & Insurance
3. Telecom
4. Transport
5. Government
6. Strategic & Public Enterprises

Cyberdome Project (UPSC Mains)

• Cyberdome, the hi-tech centre for cybersecurity being set up by the Kerala Police.
• Cyberdome will be a hi-tech centre for cyber security. The project is worth Rs. 2 crore. The project is being established on the public-private partnership model with the technical support offered by IT companies.

Unique features of the project:

• As many as 500 ethical hackers and cybersecurity experts would be involved in the project
• It would have centres for social media awareness, protection of children on the Internet, Internet monitoring and ICT (Information and Communication Technology) in service delivery.
• It would also host an Anti-Cyber Terror Cell and a cybersecurity training unit.
• It would be equipped with an automated crime intelligence-gathering unit and a unit for anti-piracy on the Internet.
• It will have its server hosted at the State Data Centre. Software companies will provide technical support on a voluntary basis, develop software for the purpose, and supply technical manpower.
• The station will be manned by police officers with IT-related qualifications. The Additional Director General of Police (Crimes) will be in charge of the project.
• Cyberdome would be open to new models of partnership to find solutions to emerging threats and challenges.

Important functions:

• It would work on the prevention of hacking and defacement of websites and child pornography.
• It would have facilities to analyse Skype and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) calls and deal with money laundering on the Internet. Policing the Dark Net would be another mandate of the Cyberdome.
• Cyberdome would synergise its operations with the Computer Emergency Response Team-Kerala.