MHA unveils new cyber structure
Faced with increasing cyber crimes and defacements of Indian websites, the Union home ministry has unveiled a new cyber security architecture to deal with the new threats to national security from cyber space.
Cyber attacks on the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), CBI and other government infrastructure in recent times has prompted the MHA to draw up an institutional structure for cyber security, clearly defining the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders.
The government will set up a National Centre of Excellence for cyber forensic services (CoE), exclusively devoted to render Cyber Forensic Services and act as a National Research and Training Centre on Cyber Forensics apart from offering forensic analysis services to law enforcement agencies. It will also impart the critical training to cyber crime police personnel in states. The Data Security Council of India (DSCI) core team will liaise with this centre for inputs and guidance to state agencies.
The proposal is part of the MHA’s Cyber Crime Investigation Programme (CCIP) which includes three key components. Apart from the CoE, the MHA has mooted setting up of Cyber Crime Police Stations (CCPS) in each state and UT to spearhead specialised investigations on cyber crimes. Thirdly, Cyber Crime Investigations and Forensic Training Facil-ities (CCIFTF) will be co-located with CCPS in each state to act as training hubs for police personnel and public prosecutors. It will also provide technical assistance to investigators locally in collaboration with the Industry, led by NASSCOM and DSCI.
The proposal , with an outlay of `150 crores for three years, has been placed before the Expenditure Finance Committee for approval. The MHA will assist states in setting up of atleast one CCPS and CCIFTF in each state.
The IDSA’s latest report on “India’s Cyber Security Challenge”, released by NSA Shivshanker Menon this week says United States was the first country to formally declare “cyber war” as fifth domain warfare after land, sea, air and space. In 2010, China overtly introduced its first department dedicated to defensive cyber warfare and information security.
“The race is on. India is a target. There have been numerous incidents of sensitive government and military computers being attacked by unknown entities and information being stolen,” says the report adding as many as 219 government websites were defaced by various hacker groups in January to October 2011.
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