Nirmala Sitharaman stresses cyber security in defence sector at Cyber Security Framework workshop

A workshop on Cyber Security Framework for Department of Defence was organised by DDP, Ministry of Defence. The workshop was inaugurated by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. During her address, Sitharaman stressed upon the fact that defence sector is more prone to the cyber threats and hence it becomes important to safeguard the cyberspace with anticipation of possible attacks. The minister congratulated Department of Defence Production for formulating Cyber Security Framework for DDP and also establishing Cyber Security Cells at various levels to handle cyber security related issues. She further touched upon the requirement of creating the work force in all establishments in accordance with the nation’s vision to become a dominant force in cyber space.

Earlier addressing the participants, Secretary (Defence Production) Dr Ajay Kumar emphasised that all defence PSUs and Ordnance Factories are increasingly relying on information technology. However, any compromise in Information and Cyber Security in Defence Production environment can have far reaching consequences on effectiveness of the defence forces and national security. Therefore, it is important to establish a strong, robust and resilient cyber security infrastructure on priority basis.

Joint Secretary and Chief Information Security Officer of DDP, Dr Amit Sahai explained that this one-day workshop has been organised by the Ministry of Defence to bring in synchronised approach for cyber security based on framework document released by the Department of Defence Production in 2018. The framework which is in line with national policies and guidelines, provides a common mechanism for all organisations to describe their current cyber security posture and the target area for cyber security, identify and prioritise opportunities for improvement and continuously assess progress towards the target area.

More than 100 CISOs from Directorate General Quality Assurance (DGQA), Directorate General of Aeronautical Quality Assurance (DGAQA), Directorate of Standardisation, Defence PSUs and Ordnance Factories participated in the workshop.