Nasscom Unveils 10-year Cybersecurity Roadmap for India

The Indian software industry has listed 16 key initiatives that will develop a large indigenous base in cyber security over the next decade. Cyber security has become a critical issue in India due to the rise in on-line transactions.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — India's top software industry association has set out a road-map to boost capabilities in the cyber-security market. Making networks secure from hacking has become a buzzword ever since India undertook demonetization on November 8. Due to a shortage of new currency bills to replace the old ones, the Government is now rolling out incentives to encourage on-line transactions.

In the report "Growing Cyber Security Industry: Road-map for India'', the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) and Data Security Council of India (DSCI) want the Indian IT industry to grow to $350-400 billion by 2025. This target includes a cyber-security product and services industry of $35 billion with a skilled workforce of one million in the security sector to cater to the rise in global demand, the report said.

This is expected to boost skilled job creation amid growing protectionist rhetoric in the US by the upcoming Donald Trump administration and its stated goal of restricting H1B visas that are mainly availed by Indian software professionals.

According to the study, the global cyber-security market is expected to reach approximately $190 billion by 2025 from the present $85 billion, and will be driven primarily by the increasing digitization wave and smart phone penetration that brings in its wake ever increasing and more sophisticated cyber threats.

Speaking at the launch of the report, Nasscom President R. Chandrashekhar said, "A list of 16 initiatives has been formulated by NASSCOM-DSCI to make India a global cyber-security hub. These vary in terms of priority and should be pursued within the next five years. Effective program roll-out and strategic vision realization will require disciplined management of the 16 key initiatives. In short, a substantial trajectory change is required by Indian cyber-security industry to achieve its growth vision."

As India is a primary hub for smart phones and digitization, it is imperative to build robust cyber-security products and services industry. The report highlights an in-depth demand side assessment of all key global geographies, and attendant critical sectors of the cyber-security industry.

Besides building indigenous capabilities, India is partnering with Russia in cyber-security, especially in tackling cyber-crimes and preventing the use of Internet by transnational terror organizations like Daesh and others. It signed a comprehensive cyber-security agreement with Russia on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in mid-October this year. While India has signed an agreement with the US, it is interesting to see how much the two sides can progress given the anticipation of restrictive policies by the incoming US Presidential regime.