The Karnataka government will soon bring out a cybersecurity policy in light of increasing cyber attacks, Deputy Chief Minister Dr CN Ashwatha Narayana said on Monday during a government-held event.
“Cybersecurity is gaining increased focus in the government in view of the rapid adoption of IT (Information Technology) solutions for delivering public services. Whilst this has many benefits the increased adoption of IT also comes associated with significant cyber risks. The new Cyber Security policy would be framed to address the needs of the citizens, industry, students as well as the state government,” the Dy CM, who holds the portfolio of Information Technology, said as he was speaking at an event held at Vidhana Soudha. The event was held as part of celebrating October as cybersecurity month.
For this, the government will hold multiple sessions for senior government officials to educate them on cybersecurity risks including for officers who are part of the IAS, IPS, IFS and KAS ranks. The programmes will be designed by Centre of Excellence on Cyber Security, government of Karnataka which is housed in the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru.
Citing an FBI report in the US, the Dy CM said the number of complaints from cyber-attacks has increased up to 4,000 per day, a 400% increase compared to before the pandemic in the US. He said the same report found India to have the third highest number of cyber crimes in the world.
He said Bengaluru being India’s IT hub will naturally also be a favorite target of cybercriminals. “Hence, it is important for government organizations to become more cyber aware. Cyber aware employees are the best defense against cyber risks in any organization,” he added.
Incidentally, the National Crime Records Bureau which released its 2019 yearly report had said that Karnataka was the worst-hit among states when it comes to cyber crimes. Among a total of 44,456 cyber crimes registered in 2019, 12,020 were registered in Karnataka alone.
While the crime rate is high, the status of the investigation is abysmally poor for the state. Only in 92% of the cases, the police has been able to file the chargesheet.