Govt showcases strengthened national cybersecurity framework

NEW DELHI: The government has given a comprehensive presentation of its strengthened national cybersecurity architecture, which highlights enhanced coordination, advanced forensic capabilities, and expanded training mechanisms to counter the rising threat landscape from cyberspace.

The Minister of State for Home Affairs, Bandi Sanjay Kumar, shared this information in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

India’s cybersecurity framework now functions through an integrated multi-agency system. The coordination among various bodies is looked after by the National Cyber Security Coordinator under the National Security Council Secretariat, and the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) aims to effectively combat cybercrime.

CERT-In+, as designated under Section 70B of the IT Act, acts as the national agency in handling cyber incidents. It has put into place an automated threat intelligence exchange platform and the National Cyber Coordination Centre that continuously monitors cyberspace and shares alerts with relevant organisations and state governments.

While the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre works under Section 70A of the IT Act to protect critical digital systems, NIC supports government departments with secure IT infrastructure based on national security standards.

A major institutional development in this direction is the setting-up of the CyMAC under the MHA, which would integrate agencies like IB, CIRA, DoT, CERT-In, I4C, NIC and NCIIPC. CyMAC assists in real-time threat monitoring, intelligence sharing, and creating coordinated responses to cyber espionage, cyber terrorism, and misuse of emerging technologies.