Maharashtra has taken the first steps towards creating its version of the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) to ward off external cyber threats. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, heading a high-power committee on cyber security, on Tuesday appointed a consortium of M/s C-DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing) and Railtel Corporation of India to set up a CERT. The consultancy report for the Rs. 838-crore project, for which the government has already released half the funds, will be submitted in eight days. The consultancy will cost around Rs 2 crore.
Senior officials said that C-DAC is likely to use the same technical assistance as that of GARUDA, India’s national grid computing initiative, and GIST (Graphics and Intelligence Based Script Technology). Railtel meanwhile, has expertise in working out a complex multimedia network based on broadband. It has already put in place a network using modern transmission systems and high-end routers created for the Railways’s seamless right-of-way along 63,000 km tracks across 7,000 stations.
The state CERT will also work in coordination with the RBI to counter phishing websites. While banks will have authentication mechanisms in place, the CERT will work to mitigate further risks.
