Centre declares key railway systems protected, 10-year jail for any breach

The central government has declared centralised traffic control of the north central railway, and train management system of Central and Western Railway, as "protected systems" under the Information Technology Act.

In a notification issued by the Railway Board, the Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) -- KAVACH -- of South Central Railway too has been declared as "protected systems" under the IT Act.

According to the IT Act, a protected system is a computer resource which, if incapacitated, or destructed, shall have a debilitating impact on national security, economy, public health, or safety.

Any person who secures access or attempts to do so to a protected system in violation of the provisions of the IT Act is liable for up to 10 years imprisonment and also fine.

As per the notification, any designated employee of Indian Railways, the authorised team members of contractual managed service provider, or third party vendor authorised by Railways for need-based access, or any consultant, regulator, government official, auditor and stakeholder have been declared as authorised personnel to access protected systems.