Karnataka introduces comprehensive cybersecurity policy 2024: Rediff Moneynews

Karnataka government unveils new cybersecurity policy to combat rising cybercrime, with focus on awareness, skill building and public-private partnerships.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

Bengaluru, Aug 1 (PTI) The Karnataka government on Thursday launched a comprehensive cyber security policy 2024 that aims to combat the rising cyber crimes and promote awareness, skill building, public-private partnerships and technology integration to protect the state’s digital infrastructure.
The policy, officials said, focuses on several key areas such as awareness and education, skill building, industry and startup promotion, partnerships and collaboration for capacity building.
The total financial outflow for the implementation of the policy over five years is around Rs 103.87 crore, which will be met from the budget of the Department of Information Technology and Biotechnology and Science and Technology. Of this, Rs 23.74 crore will be allocated for providing incentives and concessions, they said.
According to the official statement, the key incentives arising from this policy are:
Under the internship programme, a stipend of Rs 10,000-15,000 per month will be provided for a maximum of three months to undergraduate and postgraduate interns in Karnataka. The aim is to facilitate 600 internships for undergraduate and 120 postgraduate interns during the policy period.
For research and development projects in the field of cybersecurity undertaken by Karnataka-based startups and in collaboration with Karnataka-based academic institutes, matching grants of up to 50 per cent of the total research and development cost of the project, or up to Rs 50 lakh, will be provided.
Costs up to a maximum of Rs One Lakh will be reimbursed for engaging Karnataka based service providers, authorised by the CERT-In team, by start-ups registered with the Karnataka Start-up Cell, for conducting cyber security audit.
“The Government of Karnataka, recognising the growing importance of cyber security, has meticulously crafted this policy to create a resilient and secure cyberspace for our citizens and businesses,” said Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj and Information Technology and Biotechnology, Priyank Kharge, during the luncheon.
He said the policy, in line with national and international efforts, underlines Karnataka’s proactive stance in combating cyber threats.
According to him, the policy consists of two parts. The first part focuses on building a strong cybersecurity ecosystem across all segments of society, including the public, academia, industry, startups, and government. The second part of the policy focuses on strengthening the cybersecurity posture of the state’s IT resources.
While the first part will be publicly available, the second part will be available internally for IT teams and state departments to implement IT solutions.
This policy has been developed jointly by the Department of Electronics, IT, BT and S&T, Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (e-Government) and the Ministry of Home Affairs, in consultation with relevant stakeholders from government and private sectors.
The policy was also reviewed by the Indian Institute of Science, which is a lead institute of the state’s Cyber ​​Security Centre of Excellence K-tech (CySecK).
He also launched the CISCO training programme as the Karnataka government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the networking giant under which CISCO would train 40,000 people on cybersecurity skills and awareness.
“This partnership with CISCO is a testament to our commitment to creating a safe digital environment. By training 40,000 people with a special focus on empowering women, we are not only addressing the skills gap but also promoting inclusivity in the technology sector,” Kharge said.
“Because we are the fourth largest technology cluster in the world and the largest technology cluster in the country, we also have the highest number of online frauds. These are the collateral damages of progress. So, the highest number of online financial frauds in the country happens in Karnataka. Close to 372 crore per year, which are reported (of such frauds) alone…the first highest is of course Bengaluru and the second highest is Mandya,” he said.
“The Karnataka government is taking this (addressing these issues) extremely seriously and I think we are probably the first state to set up a fact-checking unit for disinformation, fake news, deepfakes… so we tried that for 90 days during the election period.
And you will be surprised that some of our partners who have been registered have detected close to seven and a half lakh threats. Out of which serious threats were close to 500…” he added.
According to him, the policy aims to build a vibrant, secure and resilient cyberspace for all G2G, G2B and G2C services of the Government of Karnataka.
“Besides creating a secure cyber ecosystem, the policy aims to create a framework for ensuring security, strengthening the regulatory framework, responding quickly to security threats, protecting critical information, reducing supply chain risk and developing human resources,” Kharge added.
The minister said the state government has also tied up with Meta to create awareness about cyber security.
“We have also partnered with Meta. We will go to schools and colleges. We will train one lakh teachers on how to be safe online and we will teach 10 lakh children on how to be safe online. We are also talking to WhatsApp and other social media organisations on how we can use their data, their analytics to provide a safer environment for our youngsters,” Kharge said.