Relevance:

• GS 3 || Security || Internal Security Threats || Cyber Security

Why in news?

• Madhya Pradesh Cabinet has approved the proposal to create cyber tehsils in the state of Madhya Pradesh.
• After this, MP will become the first state in the country to have a cyber tehsil.

About:

• Cyber Tehsil will make the mutation process easy and people from anywhere in the state can avail of its benefit.
• With this, the process of conversion will become convenient in the cases of undisputed land.

About Cyber Infrastructure:

Cyber Infrastructure of India:

• With each passing year, India has seen an increase in the number of cyberattack attempts.
• However, there haven’t been many attacks on its essential infrastructure. The ShadowPad attack, on the other hand, is not the first cyberattack on Indian infrastructure.
• The majority of these attacks have targeted power infrastructure, banking infrastructure, manufacturing infrastructure, and healthcare infrastructure.
• The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu suffered an infection in its administrative system in 2019. The malware ‘DTrack’ was found to be the source of the attack.
• The number of cyberattacks on infrastructure has increased dramatically since the beginning of the pandemic.
• In recent years, the frequency of COVID-related phishing attempts aimed at government, defence, and critical infrastructure has skyrocketed.
• CERT-In revealed the ShadowPad malware in a number of supply chain intrusions just a month after the attack on Mumbai’s infrastructure – one of the largest such attacks to be recorded.

Various threats and challenges associated with cyber infrastructure:

• Cyber terrorism: It is a deliberate, politically motivated attack that ends in violence against information, computer systems, computer programmes, and data.
• Digital Data Threat: Growing online transactions have increased the incentive for thieves to steal data. Apart from mining data (customer information, results of product surveys, and generic market knowledge), businesses also develop intellectual property, which is a desirable target in and of itself.
• Cyber warfare: It is the act of a nation-state or international organisation attacking and attempting to damage the computers or information networks of another nation.
• Cyber Infrastructure Concerns: Like any other connected system, most equipment and technological systems are vulnerable to cyber assaults. Despite the establishment of the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC), the government has yet to identify and implement critical information infrastructure protection measures.
• A scarcity of specialists: India is the world’s second-largest Internet user after China (Internet World Stats, 2017). When compared to the number of internet users, India has a small number of cyber-security experts.
• India’s approach to cyber security has so far been ad hoc and unsystematic due to a lack of robust law enforcement measures. Despite the existence of a number of agencies, policies, and initiatives, their execution has been inadequate.
• Lack of Coordination: Coordination between agencies in the realm of cyber security is poor due to the existence of too many agencies with overlapping functions.

Initiatives are being taken by the government to enhance cyber-security in India:

• The Freedom of Information Act of 2000: India’s major statute for dealing with cybercrime and digital trade is the Information Act of 2000 (as revised in 2008).
• 2013 National Cybersecurity Policy: The strategy establishes a vision and strategic direction for safeguarding the nation’s cyberspace.
• CERT-In (Indian Cyber Emergency Response Team): Since 2004, CERT-In has been in operation. It is the central agency for responding to computer security incidents as they arise across the country.
• Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C): The Union Government has agreed to establish the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C). It will serve as the top coordination centre for cybercrime.
• Cyber Swachhta Kendra: The Cyber Swachhta Kendra, which was launched in early 2017, provides a platform for users to analyse and clean their computers of various viruses, bots/malware, Trojans, and other threats.
• Cyber Surakshit Bharat: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, launched the Cyber Surakshit Bharat initiative to spread awareness about cybercrime and building capacity for safety measures for Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and frontline IT staff across all government departments.
• The Cyber Warrior Police Force: In 2018, the government announced its plans to introduce CWPF. It is proposed to be raised on lines of the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF).
• Cyber-Crime Prevention against Women & Children’ Scheme:Implemented by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the scheme aims to prevent and reduce cyber crimes against women and children.

Way Forward:

• Building capabilities: Capabilities and capacity for application, device, and infrastructure testing are urgently needed.
• Human resource development: Immediate attention must be paid to human resource development in order to enhance the number of professionals capable of properly managing the country’s cyber security.
• R&D: Research and development should be prioritised in order to develop more inventive technology to combat rising cyber security risks.
• Policy and Governance: It is critical to develop a strong policy and to properly implement it. Furthermore, for seamless operation and greater coordination among departments and stakeholders, roles and responsibilities should be clearly defined.
• Awareness: The government and large private enterprises should launch a periodic awareness campaign to educate the public about cyber security threats.
• Strengthening the Public-Private Cooperation: Strengthening the public-private partnership on cyber security is critical.

Conclusion:

Cyber teshil is one of the very rare steps taken by the government. It will help in solving many land disputes that are pending in court of justice, yet there are many more steps that need to be taken by the government to make cases of property disputes an easy solution.

Mains oriented question:

Write about cyber teshil, explain its benefits in detail. (150 words)