Invest more than 10% of IT assets in cybersecurity: Top Indian official

Organisations should invest more than 10 percent of the value of their information technology assets in cybersecurity, a top Indian security official said on February 20.

"Keep your IT guy separate from your cybersecurity guy. They can't be the same people, although a CISO (chief information security officer) can head both the teams," said National Cyber Security Coordinator Lt Gen (Retd) Rajesh Pant.

Speaking at the India Digital Summit organised by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), he said that countries like China and Russia were driving a split in the internet due to geopolitical reasons. As a result, he said, cybersecurity has assumed geopolitical dimensions.

"Now, there is the concept of splinternet ... Because of this splinternet and lack of cooperation between nations, criminals are taking advantage. Today, there are no international laws and regulations which help the agencies for solving cybercrimes," he said.

Pant, however, pointed out that an international task force for countering cybercrimes has been formed with the likes of Australia and the US. This task force and Interpol recently infiltrated a crime ring on the dark web, preventing a $150 million loss to a corporate.

"Crime as a service is being offered on the dark web today. An access broker is sitting inside companies today. He knows how much is the company's cyber insurance, then there is a crypto expert, an exfil expert and a negotiator all working in tandem to commit cyber crimes," he added.

Pant stated that a national cybersecurity portal has been established to assist victims of such frauds. This portal receives approximately 3,500 requests per day, and he believes that the actual number of frauds is 2-3 times higher.

He also mentioned that the national cybersecurity strategy is with the Prime Minister's Office. The strategy proposes a separate legislative framework for the digital space and the creation of a body to address cyber threats, responses and complaints.