Bangalore is likely to host the southern chapter of the Cyber Appellate Tribunal, said M.N. Vidyashankar, Principal Secretary, Department of Information Technology, Biotechnology and Science and Technology, here on Thursday.
The Cyber Appellate Tribunal, established under the Information Technology Act, started functioning in 2006.
Speaking at an inaugural session of the third edition of the Bangalore Cyber Security Summit, Mr. Vidyashankar said that the State has taken a lead by establishing the first cyber security laboratory in the country, at Mangalore.
Mr. Vidyashankar said that a recent study of cyber security across the world showed that it costs 2.7 times more to plug “security breaches” after they are found, than investments made in preventive measures.
He cited examples of the breaches in Sony's PlayStation last year and of the data security breaches at the National Health Service in the U.K. to underline the importance of the issue.
Suresh Kumar, Minister for Law, Justice and Human Rights, Parliamentary Affairs, Legislature and Urban Development, pointed out that the first exclusive police station in the country to track cyber crime was established in Bangalore.
Mr. Suresh Kumar said that an “organised underworld” is active, which uses fake email identities.
“Internet and email users are particularly vulnerable,” Mr. Suresh Kumar said. “Bangalore,” he said, “is ready to become the cyber security capital of India.”
“The Internet is a double edged weapon,” said K.D. Nayak, Chief Controller, Research and Development, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
A new computer would be compromised in about 2-3 years some years ago; now it takes just eight minutes for a new computer to be compromised, Mr. Nayak observed.
Referring to the problem of ensuring cyber security, he said, “In this field there are no time frames, no boundaries and no laws.”
Latha Reddy, Deputy National Security Advisor, National Security Council Secretariat, called for “a coordinated implementation of security measures.”
The two-day event concludes on Friday.
