According to a press statement, India and Finland have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the area of cybersecurity.
The MoU intends to promote closer cooperation in the exchange of knowledge and experience in the detection, resolution, and prevention of security-related incidents between the two countries.
The Ministry of External Affairs has said that Finland and India have traditionally had friendly relations. For Finland, India is a market for its products and a favourable investment destination for its high technology industries. For India, Finland is an important member of the European Union and a repository of modern technology.
As OpenGov reported, earlier this year, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) announced the release of a “Digital India Compendium”, titled Digital Bharat, Saksham Bharat.
The objective of the document is to disseminate and outline the success of the Digital India initiative. It is divided into two sections, the digital profile of India and the digital profiles of states and union territories in India.
The digital profile of India consists of an in-depth analysis, a comparative study of the implementation of Digital India, and the impact it has had on Indian citizens.
Along with the state-wise digital profiles, the second part of the document discusses several initiatives launched under Digital India.
One of the areas the document outlines is how India aims to create secure cyberspace. It said that millions of people in the country rely on the services and information available in cyberspace.
It noted that as the quantity and value of electronic information has increased, so have business models and efforts of criminals, that use cyberspace as a convenient and profitable way of carrying out their activities anonymously. Hence, the security of the country’s cyberspace has become an important part of the national agenda.
The National Cyber Security Policy, 2013 is aimed at building a secure and resilient cyberspace for citizens, businesses and the government. By protecting information infrastructures, building capabilities to prevent and respond to cyber threats, reducing vulnerabilities, and minimising damage from cyber incidents.
Furthermore, the government launched a number of initiatives to tackle cyber-attacks. The National Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC) was set up to generate macroscopic views of cybersecurity breaches and cybersecurity threats in the country. The centre scans the cyberspace in the country at a metadata level and generates near real-time situational awareness.
The NCCC is a multi-stakeholder body and implemented by Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) at MeitY. The first phase of NCCC was operationalised in 2017 and plans for the final version of the project is in progress.
The Cyber Swachhta Kendra was also launched and is operated by the CERT-In team. By providing free tools and security best practices for citizens, CSK helps users to securely carry out digital payments, secure their personal computers, broadband routers, and mobile phones.
The centre operates in collaboration with Internet service providers (ISPs), antivirus companies, and academia to facilitate productive interactions in terms of guidance and communication between the government and the public.
It also provides free bot removal tool, various security tools, security best practices, and information to users to secure their systems and devices, while spreading cybersecurity awareness.
