The increase in data breaches, accidental leak of sensitive information and use of private emails for official communication across public and private sector institutions is a cause of worry, said Special Chief Secretary, Revenue Department, Rajat Bhargava.
Speaking after launching a cyber security foundation course for the employees of the Andhra Pradesh State Beverages Corporation Limited (APSBCL), Mr. Bhargava said such breaches not only would result in heavy financial loss but also have adverse impact on the services extended by the government to the public. Realising the need for qualified manpower to handle information security issues in different sectors, the government decided to initiate this training programme on a massive scale to help the departments, public sector units and government undertakings in securing themselves from these lurking cyber threats, he said, informing that Andhra Pradesh was the first State in the country to initiate the training on such massive scale for safe computing.
Managing Director of the corporation Vasudev Reddy explained in detail the cyber threats surrounding the IT landscape. “Governments, military, corporations, hospitals, financial institutions and other business processes store a great deal of confidential information on computers and transmit that data across networks to other computers. With the growing volume and sophistication of cyber attacks, attention is required to protect sensitive business and personal information, as well as to safeguard national security,” he said, informing that data breach recovery costs were substantial across all industries. He said the government and large enterprises need to gear up to counter these threats and improve security. “Also, trained manpower is needed to counter the attacks which can be done using structured Cyber Security Foundation programmes and through supply of qualified specialists to the industry.”
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Regional Director of Telecommunications Consultants India Limited (TCIL) P.V. Sreekanth said it had collaborated with the Forensic Intelligence Surveillance and Security Technologies (FISST), a Chennai-based company, in specialising on cyber and physical security solutions, including training and certification programmes, in association with IIT Madras.
Chief Mission Integrator and Innovator, FISST, C. Mohan Ram, threw light on the basic functions of a security set-up with over 30 tools and settings for prevention of attacks on computer and networks.