New Delhi: shaken by ransomware attack ThePrint has learned that the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in November, while the central government is working on a task force to prevent such attacks in future.
called the A Home Ministry source told ThePrint that several measures were discussed during the meeting of the National Counter Ransomware Taskforce (NCRT), Director General of Police held last week.
for three days All India Conference of Director General/Inspectors General of Police 2022 organized last week in delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah attended.
conference came Within two months of the ransomware attack on AIIMS wreaking havoc in India’s premier medical institute and temporarily shutting down its servers.
A senior IPS officer serving in the Ministry of Home Affairs told ThePrint that to prevent such attacksOntriple protection Suggestions were made in the meeting, including creation of an integrated national task force and formulation of National Information Security Policy Guidelines (NISPG).
The government is also planning to hold regular conferences of chief information security officers and regular coordination meetings of state home secretaries, the source said, adding that the Modi government has already started working on the NCRT.
A home ministry source told ThePrint that the government was particularly concerned about cyber espionage, cyber terrorism and ransomware, especially since the possible involvement of Pakistan and China has come to the fore. AIIMS attack probe
crypto police
ThePrint has learned that apart from ransomware, cryptocurrency-inspired cyber attacks are seen as another major threat to India’s sensitive establishments.
A home ministry source told ThePrint that an analysis by India’s central security agencies revealed that there are only 12 certified crypto case investigators in the country, which were found to be “inadequate”.
The source told ThePrint that in 2022, the government has trained around 8,000 officers in police units and agencies to investigate such cases, and over 26,000 have been enrolled for certification courses.
The meeting also reviewed the steps taken by the central government in September 2019 to tackle cybercrime, the source said.
In September 2019, MHA wrote to chief secretaries of all states about new measures to tackle cybercrime – which include Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre. The letter has reached ThePrint.
The centre, otherwise known as 14C, was created nodal agency To fight cyber crime at the national level.
The letter, which has been accessed by ThePrint, also speaks about the implementation of Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLATs) – a bilateral treaty signed between countries to provide international cooperation and assistance – with regard to cybercrime.
Besides this, the MHA also suggested that states block or remove illegal content from the web,
Beyond Fraud and Phishing Attacks
Seven states – Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Bihar and West Bengal – account for 70 per cent of India’s total cyber crime cases, according to a report submitted to the government by 14C of the Ministry of Home Affairs. a source in the coordinate center,
About 20 per cent of these cases were registered in 20 districts of these seven states. the source said.
However, despite this, the government is more concerned about cyber espionage, cyber terrorism and ransomware, especially in the light of the AIIMS attack, the source said.
“Getting threats from preloaded smartphone or customized systems. Protection of Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) is of paramount importance to us now as it plays a vital role in ensuring national security. We are working on developing response mechanisms like a national firewall and counter-ransomware task force, said another senior IPS officer dealing with cyber security issues.
The government has constituted a six-member committee comprising three state DGPs, the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Center (NCIIPC) and the DG of CERT-In and officials from the Intelligence Bureau and 14C of the MHA.
Home Ministry is also working “Security Audit Calendar” — Regular audit of security measures — For ministries and departments, said the second source.
“The home ministry, along with the state police, will identify cybercriminal hot spots,” the senior official said. “It is also working on some legal amendments related to specific cyber crimes.”
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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