Firms should invest over 10% of IT assets in cyber security: Rajesh Pant

Enterprises should invest more than 10% of information technology assets in cybersecurity without any compromise, said Lt Gen (Retd.) Dr. Rajesh Pant, AVSM, VSM National Cyber Security Coordinator, National Security Council Secretariat of India, Government of India.

“In future, once 5G comes, we expect the 5 billion internet users to reach 25 billion by the end of this year and therefore, companies must invest in security. Never compromise on the security part,” he said at the 17th India Digital Summit (IDS), being organised by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), in association with Google and MessageBird.

Speaking of the ‘splinternet’ concept, Dr. Pant pointed out, “Because of this splinternet and lack of cooperation between nations, the criminals are taking advantage as there are no international laws and regulations which help the agencies for solving cybercrimes.’‘

The World Economic Forum has been saying that cybercrime was the biggest manmade risk to the economic progress of a nation, he said adding, economies last year reported a total loss of $6 trillion.

Commenting on India’s role in dealing with cybercrime, Dr. Pant said, “At the national level, we created the National Counter Ransomware Task Force under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Other national-level initiatives include the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre which handles the cybercrime portal cybercrime.gov.in where one can report cybercrimes.”

He said India also has the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) which has about 580 people that monitor and predict cyber threats. Some 7 critical sectors have been identified out of which 2 supercritical ones are power and telecom.

On global efforts to combat cybercrime, he said that like-minded nations including India, Australia, the U.K., and the U.S., were getting together. “We have created an International Counter Ransomware Task Force where perpetrators are put under sanctions. It has saved about $150 million,” he mentioned.

Some 150 policymakers, regulators, industry captains, and subject stalwarts are expected to participate in the two-day IDS 2023 being held in New Delhi.