India’s National Cyber Security Strategy

• IAS NEXT, Lucknow
• 28, Apr 2022

• National Cyber Security Strategy was conceptualized by the Data Security Council of India (DSCI), headed by Lt General Rajesh Pant.
• This report focuses on 21 areas to ensure a safe, secure, trusted, resilient, and vibrant cyberspace for India.
• The main sectors of focus of the report are,
  • Large scale digitization of public services.
  • Monitoring and mapping of the supply chain of the Integrated circuits (ICT) and electronics products, scaling up product testing and certification, etc
  • Critical information infrastructure protection – Integrating Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) security with enterprise security, monitoring digitisation of devices, etc
  • Digital payments – Mapping and modeling of devices and platform deployed, supply chain, transacting entities, payment flows, interfaces and data exchange, etc
  • Developing state-level cybersecurity policies, allocation of dedicated funds, critical scrutiny of digitization plans, guidelines for security architecture, operations, and governance
  • Policy intervention in cyber security of small & medium businesses granting incentives for higher level of cybersecurity preparedness, frameworks, architectures for adopting IoT & industrialization.
• To implement cybersecurity in the above-listed focus areas, the report lists the following recommendations:
  • Minimum allocation of 0.25% of the annual budget, which can be raised up to 1% for cyber security.
  • Research, innovation, skill-building and technology development
  • Crisis management by holding cybersecurity drills which include real-life scenarios with their ramifications.
  • Cyber insurance – DSCI recommends developing cyber insurance products for critical information infrastructure and quantify the risks involving them.
  • Cyber diplomacy – DSCI suggests that the government should promote brand India as a responsible player in cyber security and also create ‘Cyber envoys’ for the key countries/regions.
  • For a robust internet infrastructure, DSCI suggests keeping critical infrastructure, root server of programs controlling and governing India, inside India.
  • Cybercrime investigation – DSCI suggests charting a 5-year roadmap under section 79A of IT act.