As part of Cyber Security Awareness Month, Microsoft Organized the 3rd edition of ExpertSpeak, a curated dialogue series with industry experts, on India’s emerging threat landscape and securing cyberspace at large. against this backdrop, Keshav Dhakad, general counselwas in conversation with Microsoft India Lt Gen Rajesh Pant, National Cyber Security Coordinator, PMO, Government of India, on the development of the cyber security landscape in the country and the need for stronger cooperation between the public and private sectors to secure India at large.
Calling for greater sharing of threat intelligence between enterprises and the government, Gen Pant said that cyber security is an essential service today as India is one of the most cyber-attacked countries in the world.
He said that now there is a need for a national cyber security strategy, which has been in the works for the last two years and is in the cabinet for the final seal. So the first thing is that we need a governance structure, because there is no central apex organization which is responsible for the cyber security of the country,
Talking about the rise in cyber threats, Gen Pant said that around 4 million malware is detected every day and India is one of the most cyber-attacked countries in the world. He attributed this mainly to the fact that the country has a huge attack surface with 1.15 billion phones and over 700 million internet users.
Gen Pant said that the pandemic has made the cyber security situation critical. National Security Agency Cyber attacks saw a 500% increase, citing the telecommunications, financial, transportation and energy sectors being the most targeted. He said the government was able to avert any major cyber attacks or threats, as a result of which India moved up from 47th to 10th in the new ranking of the Global Cyber Security Index.
Microsoft’s Keshav emphasized the need for skilling for cyber security. Reports estimate that there will be around 1.5 million job vacancies in cyber security in India by 2025. There is a strong industry need to build programs that bridge this skill gap in cyber security. Bridging the gender gap in cyber security and enabling greater diversity in the sector is another important priority.
.