A Critical Role for India
News | October 29, 2012
On the eve of the EastWest Institute’s 3rd Worldwide Cybersecurity Summit in New Delhi, top Indian government officials, along with international private and public sector leaders, met for a series of private workshops today. Held at the headquarters of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), the first workshop on fighting spam and botnets was facilitated by the Malware, Messaging and Mobile Anti-Abuse Working Group (M3AAWG).
“I am honored that the 3rd Worldwide Cybersecurity is being organized here in Delhi,” said R. Chandrashekhar, Secretary, Department of Telecommunications, at the official opening. Citing the enormity of the problems posed by the rapid expansion of the Internet, he asserted: “We have to start looking at the individual pieces. That’s where this dialogue becomes important.”
Along with the workshop on spam and botnets, the participants focused on payload security, cloud computing, and supply chain integrity. “The number of threats and the number of mechanisms to counter these threats is increasing by the day,” warned J. Satyanarayana, Secretary, Department of Electronics and Information Technology. To protect both cyberspace and the physical world, he appealed for increased international cooperation.
EWI President John Mroz emphasized India’s critical role in cybersecurity. “The fact that two secretaries have joined us on this very busy Monday morning for the Indian government is a testament to the importance of this country’s role in this process," he said.
Dr. Arbind Prasad the Director General of FICCI underscored this point. “India is a critical player in the Internet eco-system.” Kamlesh Bajaj, the CEO of the Data Security Council of India (DSCI), also stressed the need for India to act in concert with other nations. “It’s very timely that we are participating as India in the global deliberations,” he said.
Michael O’Reirdan, the chairman of M3AAWG, pointed to the progress that has already been made to introduce best practices to reduce spam and botnets. “This is a problem we have to address so that people do not get victimized,” he said. Karl Rauscher, EWI’s Chief Technology Officer, added: “We are getting rid of pollution in cyberspace on a massive scale.”
The progress made at the off-the-record workshops helped set the stage for the summit deliberations on October 30-31, which will build on the achievements of the previous annual summits in Dallas and London. “I want to particularly compliment the EastWest Institute for having put together this summit,” said Secretary Chandrashekhar.