 "Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju")
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday said he would "admit" to the fact that modernisation of the country's police forces was not up to the mark even as he talked about the need for India to secure its digital payments brought out post note ban.
"We really need to update our policing system. I am admitting to the fact, that we are not yet up to the mark in terms of modernisation of our police forces in India. We need to look into that," the Minister said at an event in New Delhi.
He said that the rapid development of digital technologies and wide range of services in cyberspace are raising serious concerns for the government as the country embarks on a journey towards cashless economy.
"India needs to secure its digital payments, put everything on secure networks to provide secure payments to its citizens and it is not an easy task. In the MHA we keep updating ourselves. I can clearly see the challenges and which is not going to be easy for all of us. This rapid development of digital technologies and wide range of services provided for activities in cyberspace raises issues of serious concern for the government," Rijiju said during an event here on Cyber Security by Uday India and Var India magazines.
Rijiju said securing financial modes of payment through digital means is the need of the hour.
He said cyber crimes pose a direct threat to the security of critical infrastructure and IT (Information Technology) and with the advancement of IT, crime now knows no jurisdiction or national boundaries.
"The very nature of internet allows for unprecedented collaboration and interaction among particular communities of criminals and this I can record to the latest challenge of ISIS which we are facing in India. Just 10 or 15 years back, we would have been sitting quietly. Any problem in middle-east... There would have been a very different scenario that time because we were only concerned with what was happening with our own neighbours.
"But today, anything happening in middle-east, or any activities of the ISIS has immediate and direct reach on our shores," he said.
The Minister said that India has been "successful in last two years, with shared details, in cracking and dealing with all the challenges."
"Sometimes we are criticised for making too pro-active reaction or preventive steps being taken. But this was necessary and I compliment the Israelis, they have been an example for taking preventive steps and they have prevented many things which could not have happened if they (their security) were not as robust as they are," Rijiju said.
Noting that cyber crimes can be caused in real-time from anywhere in the world and the culprits are hard to track, prosecute and penalise, he said, "Cyber-terrorism can cause much wider damage to any country now in comparison to physical violence.
The minister asserted: "We are capable enough and so far India has been successful in preventing any such efforts."
He said the government is aware of the vulnerability of IT and abuse of public data provider on the internet as India is shifting gears to enter the process of e-Governance with many services like passport, income tax being brought under it.
Recognising the strategic dimensions of cyberspace, he said the government has created the position of National Cyber Security Coordinator and the Cabinet Committee on Security in its meeting held on 5 October, 2016 approved the creation of and administration of research and development fund for cyber security.
A high-power committee is also being created under the chairmanship of the National Security Advisor for setting priorities for research utilisation and human resource development, Rijiju added.
Policies have also been issued as government agencies and government-approved agencies are carrying out audits of organisations in cyber infrastructure.
"India must develop both offensive and defensive cyber security capabilities that must be robust enough to detect and nullify any cyber warfare, cyber espionage against India," he said.
Social networking platforms have made the cyber network more complicated, he said, emphasising the need for enhanced public-private efforts in cyber security and creating awareness on the issue.
Also noting "some gaps" in the government functioning, he said that at times "the system" remains isolated and does not update itself to the demands of the market at a pace not as fast as private entities do, and stressed the need for fast update among government security officials.
