Cyber security integral to national security: Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said cyber security is integral to national security and the Narendra Modi government is committed to making it robust.

Addressing a conference on ‘cyber safety and national security’, Shah said technology is being taken to the grassroot level in India and if cyber security is not ensured, it will be a big challenge for the country. “We all know how important is cyber security and how it can contribute for the development of India. India’s progress is not possible without cyber security. Cyber security is integral to the national security and the Modi government is committed to making it robust,” he said.

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The home minister said everyone knows that the misuse of cyber space is not new and various kinds of cyber crimes are seen very often that include malware attacks, phishing, attacks on critical infrastructure, data theft, online economic frauds, child pornography among others. Such crimes are expected to increase in the coming days, he said. Shah also cited the data on the increasing number of cyber crimes being reported in the country.

“In 2012, a total of 3,377 cyber crimes were reported and it has gone up to 50,000 in 2020. The number of cyber crimes which were not reported could be in lakhs. We are resolved to create the most secured cyber atmosphere in the world,” he said. The home minister said the Ministry of Home Affairs has launched a cyber crimes reporting portal about three years ago and so far, 11 lakh different kinds of cyber crimes have been reported there. Besides, he said, there were over two lakh social media complaints which were registered on the portal.

“This is going to increase in the coming days, because currently, 80 crore Indians are active online. This is a big number and as the prices of data go down, there will be more users,” he said. Shah said the government wants to progress in digitisation but at the same time, ensure a secured cyber place in India. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision is to make every Indian technologically empowered and due to digitisation, there has been empowerment and technological advancement.

The home minister said because of technology, 130 crore people in the country are getting benefits through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme. “For a country like India, this is a big revolution. Before 2014, we just could not think about it as there there were 60 crore families in the country who did not have any bank account. Forget about transferring benefits digitally, they did not even have a bank account,” he said.

Shah said for getting benefits, people had to run from pillar to post and also face corruption. But now, by clicking a single button, the prime minister can transfer Rs 6,000 each to 13 crore families which is a big development and at the same time, a challenge too. “There is a big challenge before us to protect the country from cyber frauds and other cyber challenges,” he said.