Karnataka’s cybersecurity policy likely by next month, says IT minister | Latest News India
The Karnataka government is likely to release its cybersecurity policy by the end of December, according to the information technology minister, arming the state with key infrastructure and software to deal with rising complexities in the online space.
The government had announced to frame a cybersecurity policy a year ago. The state government is also readying a data centre policy.
“The IT department of the state will provide the necessary policy framework to protect its growing technology ecosystem as well as individuals,” said Dr CN Ashwath Narayan, Karnataka’s minister for information technology, biotechnology, science & technology, higher education, skill development, entrepreneurship and livelihood.
“This space (online and technology) is expanding. We have to look at the applications and implications of this. Rights have to be protected from hackers and we also train individuals on how to protect themselves,” Narayan told Hindustan Times.
Unveiling of the policy comes at a time when there has been a steep increase in cyber crimes across the country, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic which forced higher dependence on online solutions due to extended periods of lockdowns across India.
Bengaluru, India’s technology capital and startup hub, had the highest number of cyber crimes (cases under IT Act) in 2020, according to data released by the National Crime Records Bureau in September.
Bengaluru recorded 8,892 such cases in 2020, which was several times more than the other five biggest urban centres in the country, including Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, data shows.
Narayan said that there is no existing policy around data and information security and a framework is needed as hackers continue attacks on organisations and individuals.
“As we grow (in technology), hackers too are growing,” Narayan said.
According to IT research and advisory firm, Gartner, enterprise information security and risk management end user spending is expected to rise 9.5% to total $2.08 billion this year.
“Rapid adoption of cloud has led to growth in the enterprise information security and risk management end user spending in India is expected to rise 9.5% annually to total $2.08 billion in 2021,” according to the latest forecast from research firm Gartner.
The policy by the Basvaraj Bommai-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government comes even as the chief minister has been accused to be part of a several thousand crore Bitcoin scandal.
Congress leader Siddaramaiah has accused that a hacker was used to purchase Bitcoins worth over ₹2,000 crore and has levelled allegations against the chief minister, the BJP state president, and some senior officials.
Cyber security policy would also help police officials work better and more effectively with social media platforms, which have become crucial in investigations, and improve chances of prosecution.
There have been several instances where the crimes have remained unsolved or the police being forced to take longer time as there is no necessary framework or infrastructure to reach out or use advanced tools to crack the case.
Narayan said that all necessary software will be provided to the police to help with their investigation.
“This (policy) was for a long time coming, not just because the number of cyber crimes in Karnataka are at an all-time high, but also Karnataka being the IT hub of the world, the state of Karnataka needs to take a leadership role in recognizing the essential role that a state cybersecurity policy plays,” said Jatinder Pal Singh, the director of cybersecurity at Informatica.
He added that the increasing adoption of ‘internet of things’ or IOT makes lives easier but adds to the risk component of organisations and individuals.
“With the ever expanding sphere of internet of things, basically every home device is now connected and in effect becomes both an attack vector as well as a target of a cyber attack,” Singh added.
Gloss