CII and CERT-In join hands to build Trust in Computing

"It is not only one company or organization, but the entire industry and consumers joining hands and taking collective responsibility which is required to enhance a trust in computing", emphasized Mr Deepak Maheshwari, Director-Corporate Affairs, Microsoft India Pvt. Ltd at the Seminar on Information Security "Building Trust in Computing", organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), along with Department of Information Technology and Computer Emergency Response Team-India (CERT-In) here in CII Northern Region Headquarters Chandigarh today. 

Detailing on the different characteristics of safety in online usage, Prof Sanjeev Sofat, Additional Director IT II, Chandigarh Administration stated, "Cyber offences aim at monetary gain - on-line business fraud and e-Banking remain at a high level of risk. Sophisticated crimes are committed by using intrusion programmes ". He further said that the dramatic increase of online game related crimes and continual monetary loss and damage has made the authorities realise that that there is more to security than technology. Therefore the focus of the industry and the government has moved onto the 'people & processes' aspect of the problem, more than on technology.  Chandigarh Administration has funded a research programme to tackle aspects related to cyber crime. 

Mr J S Bhatia, Director, Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, while deliberating about the sensitivity of the issue cautioned, "We must have confidence in use of facilities available on the internet, which are easy to use. However, we need to take elementary precautions for a safe and secure online transaction such as use of strong password and regular antivirus updates". 

Commending on the initiative taken by CII, Mr Ayushman Sinha, Sr Analyst, Infosys Technologies stressed that convenient tools such as color coding are available to easily distinguish safe and unsafe websites.

"This CII effort is spread across six cities: Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Chandigarh and Bangalore. In these cities we will be reaching out to 30 schools targeting more than 3000 children. This CII imitative is designed to raise consumer awareness about cyber crime targeting the children and youth who are increasingly using online facilities", said Vikram Tiwathia, Chief Information Officer, CII. Emphasizing the importance of safe online access and sharing, Mr Tiwathia said that information security is not as much of a technical requirement but a social aspect. 

The CII along with Department of Information and Technology and Computer Emergency Response Team - India (CERT-In) have established the Information Security Advisory Forum. This forum is proposed to be the single unified line of communication between government, industry and law enforcement agencies. 

The focus for this year's awareness building is to target youth and consumers, in an effort to curb Phishing, Trojans, Viruses, Worms and Spam incidents. Some of the leading schools in Chandigarh like Gian Jyoti Institute of Management & Technology & Gian Jyoti Public School, Yadavindra Public School, St Anne's Convent School, St Kabir Public School and Dr IT Group of Institutes have joined the initiative. Individuals need to be proactive to secure themselves from information and Communication Technology related threats said Ms Anupama Arya, Chairperson, CII's Young Indians Chandigarh Chapter & Director, Mobera Systems Pvt Ltd. 

The Seminar was attended by over 175 delegates including Senior Industry Members, Senior Officials of Government, the students and teachers of leading schools of Chandigarh and a 25 member delegation from Myanmar.