Govt implements comprehensive technical, legal measures to deal with cyberattacks: Vaishnaw

Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday said the government has taken comprehensive technical and legal measures to deal with cyberattacks, which have become a "big challenge".

During Question Hours proceeding in Rajya Sabha, the minister informed that the government is also creating awareness among people to deal with this challenge.

"Cyberattacks are a big challenge for us," Vaishnaw said.

To face this challenge, the government has taken comprehensive legal and technical measures, besides creating awareness to prepare citizens.

The minister stated that India has a robust cybersecurity policy and the same is being implemented very carefully.

India's ranking in the global cybersecurity index has improved from 30-40 to the top 10 now, he added.

On the legal front, he said Parliament has passed the Digital Personal Data Protection Act and also strengthened provisions in the existing IT laws.

Moreover, the minister said, the new Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita Act has provisions for punishments for cyber-criminals.

On the technical side, Vaishnaw said the Union Home Ministry has created the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) to deal with cybercrimes in a coordinated and effective manner and added that this has given good results.

The minister highlighted that India was able to thwart major cyberattacks during the G20 summit and Ram temple inauguration ceremony.

In a written submission, the minister informed the House that the total number of cybersecurity incidents increased to 20,41,360 in 2024 from 15,92,917 in 2023 and 13,91,457 in 2022, as per the information reported to and tracked by CERT-In.

"The government is cognisant of the increasing frequency and sophistication of cyberattacks in the country. The government has taken several legal, technical, and administrative policy measures for addressing cyber security challenges in the country," Vaishnaw said.

The government has also institutionalised a nationwide integrated and coordinated system to deal with cyberattacks in the country, he noted.

These include the National Cyber Security Coordinator (NCSC) under the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) to ensure coordination amongst different agencies.

Under the provisions of section 70B of the Information Technology (IT) Act 2000, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) is designated as the National agency for responding to cybersecurity incidents.

National Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC) implemented by CERT-In serves as the control room to scan the cyberspace in the country and detect cybersecurity threats.

It facilitates coordination among different agencies by sharing with them the metadata from cyberspace for taking actions to mitigate cybersecurity threats.

Cyber Swachhta Kendra (CSK), a citizen-centric service provided by CERT-In, is the Botnet Cleaning and Malware Analysis Centre and helps to detect malicious programs and provides free tools to remove the same. It also provides cybersecurity tips and best practices for citizens and organisations.

Under the provisions of section 70A of the IT Act 2000, the government has established the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) for the protection of critical information infrastructure in the country.