The pandemic has brought about a deeper adoption of interconnected devices and hybrid work environments, increasing our dependence on technology. If industry estimates are anything to go by, India saw cybersecurity breaches jump by 2000% during the last two years. These threats will only intensify as we move towards the third iteration of the internet with web 3.0 technologies. Another reason is the rise in targeted attacks on country’s supply chains and critical infrastructure, emerging from state-sponsored bad threats. In short, we are entering a critical period of transformation, where we are digitally more vulnerable than before.
While we have the Information Technology Act, 2000 and a National Cyber Security Strategy 2020, we still have a fragmented approach and are not well equipped to consider new-age changes in the mode of functioning of cybercriminals. This offers India’s tech talent to build innovative solutions and invest into building digital skills to tackle these challenges. The 2022 budget should take these factors into consideration and provide the industry with increased budget allocation for cybersecurity related initiatives such as capacity building, developing an ecosystem for cybersecurity skills, implementing awareness programmes, and promoting research and development. This could be done by:
Incentivizing, introduce tax breaks to enlist private sector collaboration & participation to fight cybercrime
Developing digital skills and providing training/courses to the next generation of cyber security experts
Introducing clear pathways for school leavers looking to enter the cybersecurity workforce. To encourage young users to build interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics), cybersecurity and coding should be introduced together
Introducing additional resourcing for tertiary and vocational training in cybersecurity
Increasing investment into research and development of cybersecurity best practices in India
Creating a framework to focus on soft skills in the cybersecurity space (encourage more people to interpret, hunt for threats and articulate these issues to provide solutions)
