India laying stress on cybersecurity, says expert

India is developing a cybersecurity framework to create a safer digital ecosystem. E. Sai Prasad Chunduru, former Assistant Director, Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Hyderabad, spoke on the challenges of policy, human resources, and technical aspects of cybersecurity. A week-long workshop on Cyber Security and Digital Forensics is being held at JSS Science and Technology University to bridge the gap in trained manpower. 45 participants are attending, with senior scientists, MNC representatives, and police officers from the CID as resource persons. The workshop will discuss research, industrial visits, and the future scope of research.

India was in the process of bringing out a cybersecurity framework to provide for a safer virtual and digital ecosystem through technological research and policy initiatives.

This was stated here on Monday, November 27, by E. Sai Prasad Chunduru, former Assistant Director, Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Hyderabad. He was speaking as the chief guest at a week-long workshop on Cyber Security and Digital Forensics: Challenges and Techniques that got underway at the JSS Science and Technology University in the city.

The workshop is sponsored under the AICTE Training and Learning Faculty Development Programme (ATAL FDP). Delving on the subject, Mr. Prasad said there were various challenges pertaining to administrative, legal, human resource, and technical with regard to cybersecurity. The administrative challenges entailed policies that were still under development and India was lagging behind, said Dr.Prasad.

But since 2016 there has been a strong emphasis on policy formulation and the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), under the Ministry of Home Affairs and Centre for Prevention of Cybercrime Against Women and Children had were coordinating various aspects of cybercrime, said Dr. Prasad.

With respect to human resources, the main challenge pertained to skilled and trained manpower that was lacking, and though the country was producing a large number of trained manpower from its educational institutions every year they lacked the skill for cybersecurity and digital forensics, Dr. Prasad added. He said workshops like the one being conducted at JSS STU would help bridge the lacunae.

Organised by the Department of Computer Applications, the convenor R.K. Bharathi said that the workshop for training the faculty was timely and pertinent as cybersecurity and digital forensics were the need of the hour. She said the workshop will focus on different dimensions of the two subjects including the state-of-the-art research that is currently underway with senior scientists from various central research laboratories participating as resource persons.

In addition, there will be an industry perspective with representatives from two MNCs who will be the resource persons during the week-long workshop. The application part of the subject will be discussed by experienced police officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Karnataka.