PM Modi says India to have new cyber security policy soon
- The prime minister’s comments come against the backdrop of increasing cyber threats and psychological warfare emanating from countries like Pakistan and China.
NEW DELHI: India will soon come out with a new cyber security policy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Saturday during his speech on India’s 74th Independence Day.
Addressing the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort, the prime minister said the threats emanating from cyber space had the potential to impact India’s society, economy and development. Threats from cyber space can endanger all these aspects of Indian life, the prime minister said.
“The government is alert on this,” Modi said adding that the government will soon come out with a policy on this.
The prime minister’s comments come against the backdrop of increasing cyber threats and psychological warfare emanating from countries like Pakistan and China.
According to news reports, during the border tensions at Ladakh, China and Pakistani social media activists had seemingly joined hands to launch misinformation campaigns against India. When the clash occurred along the Pangong Lake on 5-6 May, Weibo -- the Chinese version of Twitter -- had featured images of Indian soldiers tied up and lying on the ground, with comparisons made to Bollywood’s muscular portrayal of the Indian Army.
The implementation of a nationwide lockdown from March prompted organizations to allow their employees to work from home. This also increased the menace of cyberattacks targeted at several Indian companies.
According to a Kaspersky report, there is a 37% increase in cyberattacks against Indian companies in April-June quarter, as compared to January-March quarter. Phishing attacks offering information on covid-19 and equipment, or free testing with the intention to steal personal information has also been on the rise in India in the last few months. In June, CERT-In, India’s nodal agency on cybersecurity, had also issued an advisory on a massive phishing attack on India.
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First Published:15 Aug 2020, 09:00 AM IST
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