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Adopting New Approach to Cyber Security
In the last few years, cyber security has assumed tremendous significance. The number of cyber security breaches is constantly growing with each passing day. As a result, the annual cost of cybercrime is constantly increasing. As per a recent survey, it has been estimated that the total global cost of cybercrimes is expected to cross USD 6 trillion by 2021. Hence, the protection and preservation of cyber security becomes an important priority for all stakeholders. Author: Pawan Duggal – Advocate, Supreme Court of India Head, Pavan Duggal Associates, Advocates; & President, Cyberlaws.net In the Indian context, it is perceived that cyber security is primarily a governmental responsibility. However, nothing can be farther than the truth. Cyber security as a phenomenon refers to security of computer networks and computer systems which are used for accessing the electronic ecosystem. While it is absolutely clear that the Government is responsible for protection of cyber security of governmental networks, it also needs to be appreciated in the peculiar context of Indian conditions that a large number of computer systems constituting critical information infrastructure of the country are located in private hands. Examples include telecommunication networks, insurance networks and private banking networking, apart from private medical health network. In such a scenario, therefore, it becomes imperative that the private sector also needs to appreciate its responsibility of protecting and preserving cyber security Worldwide, the private sector is now increasingly being exposed to legal consequences for their failure to put in place security mechanisms to prevent hacking and other unauthorized access or cyber security breaches. The Ashley Madison website hacking case has brought to the fore front a renewed sensitization of a new kind of legal liability. The online dating website for married persons was hacked and subscriber details were made available. Consequently, legal actions have already been filed in the US for damages for the failure to put in place adequate security to protect the confidentiality of consumers’ data. Increasingly, companies now need to be prepared that they could potentially be sued for cyber security breaches and hence need to incorporate proactive cyber security legal compliances as an integral part of their day-to-day business operations. When one specifically examines the Indian context, it is clear that India does not have a dedicated law on cyber security. Indian cyber law is grounded in the Information Technology Act, 2000, which is a jack of all trades and master of none. Its amendments in 2008 incorporated various cosmetic amendments including giving a definition to the cyber security. The definition of cyber security inserted by virtue of the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008 is broad enough to mean protecting information, equipment, devices, computer, computer resource, communication device and information stored therein from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification or destruction. Some provisions pertaining to breach of cyber security were added in the Information Technology Act, 2000 but they have not been invoked frequently or efficiently. Indian cyber law has also come up with the concept of intermediaries. All private and governmental service providers providing services on the network or dealing with third-party data are classified as intermediaries. Intermediaries under Indian cyber law are mandated to exercise due diligence while discharging their obligations under the law. Consequently, some parameters of due diligence were incorporated. In case, if an intermediary is dealing, handling sensitive personal data, additional compliances have been stipulated. Intermediaries are mandated to implement and maintain reasonable security practices and procedures while they deal, handle or process third party data. ISO 27001 standard has been recognised as one such methodology of reasonable security practices and procedures. However, when one looks at the complete set of duties and obligations stipulated for intermediaries, one will quickly realize that intermediaries have not been straddled with the responsibility for ensuring protection and preservation of cyber security. It will be a great step forward if the intermediaries are also handed the responsibility to protect and preserve cyber security. This becomes all the more important as cyber security is as strong as its weakest link and therefore the service providers need to be given the mandatory responsibility to contribute towards protection of cyber security. World over, intermediaries are now increasingly being straddled with these kind of responsibilities. Further, it is very unfair to expect that the Government would protect networks of the intermediaries when they are dealing, handling or processing third-party data. As such, the Indian law needs to take a stride forward. India needs to come up with a dedicated law on cyber security and needs to specifically address the various complex, complicated yet interconnected issues concerning cyber security ecosystems whether it is encryption, protection of critical information infrastructure, surveillance, monitoring, online liberty, privacy or any other aspect. The announcement of the Digital India program has been met with tremendous enthusiasm. For the success of the governmental programs like Digital India and Make in India, it becomes imperative that more focus needs to put on cyber security and the compliances of connected regulations by all stakeholders. As time passes by, India has to start inculcating the culture of cyber security as a way of life. We need to ensure that education concerning cyber security and cyber law needs to start at a very early age as an integral part of the school curriculum. In this regard, appropriate reforms in the education curriculum needs to be put in place. Cyber security today is presenting large amount of challenges and as such legal frameworks need to have appropriate flexibility so as to meet with the emerging challenges of the evolving paradigm of cyber security as time passes by.
India Risk Review 2018
Security needs collaboration at individual, organizational, industrial, national and global levels. Networking and knowledge sharing are the key drivers for mitigating challenges in today’s complex security environment. India dealt with the economic implications of big-ticket items like demonetization and GST. Even as violence level of Maoist and Northeast insurgencies showed a downward trend, Jammu & Kashmir remained on the boil. Along with the unrest in the border states of the country, civil disturbances in the Indian heartland have continued to occur with various special interest groups agitating to get their demands met – prominent among them being the farmers and identity-based groups. Meanwhile, cyber security continued to be an area of concern during 2017 as in the previous years, with cyber-attacks like ‘WannaCry’ occurring frequently. The year gone by was tumultuous, and a defining one for India from the economic and security perspective. The twin macroeconomic initiatives, in the form of remonetisation and introduction of GST brought about a major upheaval in the cash dependant Indian economy, whose overall impact would be felt in the ensuing years. GST, despite some infirmities, gave a boost to the federal structure and would be a unifying factor by acting as a catalyst for seamless interstate trade. The GST council will become a powerful forum for economic equity. The Indian economy buoyed by reforms and upgradation of the ease of doing business index would grow significantly in the next few years. The Political The political scenario continued to get increasingly polarised with caste and communal politics making a comeback. Slow job growth in the hinterland continues to pose risks of social unrest; fanned by political rhetorics, and would need careful monitoring. The internal security scenario showed improvement and this trend would continue. The Rohingya refugee crisis has been handled satisfactorily by the government, else it would have posed some long-term security risks. Overall, 2018 would usher in improved economic dynamics and a reasonably stable security scenario. – Lt. Gen. Sudhir Sharma (Retd.) PVSM, AVSM, YSM, VSM Chairman, MitKat As we move into 2018, security professionals world-wide will face dynamic and more evolving security threats. With other traditional security threats, terrorism and geopolitical stress will remain areas of concern, along with non-traditional threats in both the physical and cyber realms. Civil unrest, agitations and protests by parties and groups will continue to disrupt business activities, especially in the major cities. Natural hazards such as floods, cyclones and other extreme weather events will pose an increasing threat to the security and business continuity. Keeping in view the ever-changing dynamic security environment in India, it is important to constantly monitor the external threats. Overall business climate in India in 2018 India has adopted a variety of economic reform measures during 2017; most notably the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the demonetization drive that have impacted Indian businesses across the economic spectrum. In October 2017 the International Monetary Fund (IMF) slashed India’s growth forecast by 0.5 percentage points to 6.7 percent in 2017. It has also lowered the growth projection for 2018 to 7.4 per cent from its earlier estimate in April and June of 7.7 per cent. The IMF forecast is in line with a number of recent projections that have scaled down India’s growth prospects for the fiscal due to disruptions from demonetization and GST, despite the government’s strong defense of the moves. GDP growth hit a three-year low of 5.7 per cent in the first quarter of the fiscal. However, the IMF is more optimistic about medium- term growth prospects for India through gains from the new indirect tax levy. India jumped 30 spots in the rankings to 100th place out of 190 countries in the recent World Bank Doing Business report. The Central Government also plans to release a state wise ease of doing business ranking by February 2018 in order to encourage competition and increase transparency. Another vote of confidence in the Indian economy has been the upgrading of India’s sovereign rating by Moody’s to Baa2 (Investment Grade – Stable Outlook), the first such upgrade after 13 years. The rationale behind this upgrade is a strong acknowledgment and endorsement of structural-reforms in the past three years, which are slowly but surely fructifying. The deep rooted and far sighted reforms like financial inclusion (getting the poorest access to the formal banking system), and direct benefit transfer of subsidies (and thereby minimizing pilferage), have significantly led to strengthening of economy. PSU bank recapitalization, aimed at reducing the problem of NPAs in the banking system, is another positive step. Bold foreign direct investment reforms have taken place in 21 sectors along with significant reforms in defence, railways, construction, insurance, pension, civil aviation and pharmaceuticals sectors. Top Business Risks in 2018 Public protests/ strikes Public protests have resulted in serious disruptions during 2017 as most of the protests were spearheaded by farmer unions, labour unions, textile workers and bank employees. The textile industry has suffered a loss of an estimated INR 40,000 crore due to the protest against GST since July 1. The protest by bank employees all over India also led to losses of billions of rupees and this was also reflected in the stock markets over the next few days. Protests against infrastructure projects and land acquisition have also had a significant impact and will continue to do so in 2018 owing to the larger time frame of these projects. The blockade and protests against the Vizhinjam transshipment port led by local fishermen resulted in large losses and delays. Natural disasters Major metropolitan cities continue to remain underprepared to handle severe flooding resulting from the annual monsoons, which usually run from June to September. Many parts of Mumbai, Delhi and Gurgaon, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Kolkata are submerged due to waterlogging, resulting in severe disruption to businesses. Extreme flooding brought Mumbai to a standstill in July 2017. India on average suffers an economic loss of US$7 billion each year because of floods, according to the United Nations. In Assam over 5,300 hectares of agricultural…
SSSDC Performed Knowledge Partner
Security Sector Skill Development Council (SSSDC) made valuable contributions to the 12th Security Skills and Leadership Summit, held under the aegis of the Central Association of Private Security Industry (CAPSI) and the Association of Private Detectives and Investigators (APDI) during 16-17 December 2017 at Le-Meridian, New Delhi, as their Knowledge Partner.& During the Summit the Council conducted a discussion on the much-awaited job role of the fireman. This job is in its final stage of being accorded approval by the National Skill Development Agency, the apex body of approving vocational job roles for the skilling ecosystem. The discussion was orchestrated by the COO of SSSDC and the participants included experts in the field of firefighting mechanisms. The highlight of the event was the update presented by the CEO of SSSDC on the achievements of the Council since the last Leadership Summit, and that culminated in the unveiling of the inaugural edition of its annual magazine ‘Kaleidoscope.’Another memorable highlight of the two-day event was the participation of 15 tribal girls undergoing security course in the Maoist infected area of Jharkhand. As is the norm, the outstanding performance of the staff of the Council, as well as the training providers and assessment bodies were suitably recognized and awarded. They received their respective awards from the Hon’ble Minister of Tribal Affairs, Jual Oram, and the erstwhile Maharaja of Sirohi, His Excellency Raghubir Singh respectively.
Catalyzing Progress and Vision of the Security Industry
UBM India has successfully concluded its 11th edition of the three-day International Fire & Security Exhibition and Conference (IFSEC) India Expo 2017 held during 6-8 December in New Delhi. The show brought together internationally business experts, and the key government officials on one common platform to discuss global best practices and concepts such as smart cities, and to seek solutions for challenges in the security and fire domain. It also provided informative demos and a wealth of opportunities for the visitors to network, and learn about cutting-edge technologies,industry trends, challenges, market insights and discover the best solutions to keep their business and clients secured. The inaugural ceremony of IFSEC India 2017 took place in the presence of key dignitaries such as Gopal K Pillai, Chairman, Data Security Council of India & Former Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India; Shiv Charan Yadav, President, Asian Professional Security Association (APSA); Anil Dhawan, Co-Chair, ASSOCHAM Homeland Security; Commander Deepak Uppal, Director, Price water house Coopers (PwC); Yogesh Mudras, Managing Director, UBM India; and Pankaj Jain, Group Director, UBM India, amidst an august industry gathering. This year, the expo saw participation from countries such as UK, USA,China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Australia, Canada, Singapore, Lithuania, South Africa, Russia and Turkey etc., from the commercial security domain, and displayed over 300 brands. The Expo was supported by Asian Professional Security Association (APSA), American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS), Electronic Security Association of India (ESAI), Central Association of Private Security Industry (CAPSI) and Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC), along with Assocham as Strategic Partner and PwC as the Knowledge Partner. Yogesh Mudras, Managing Director, UBM India said, “The flourishing economy and rapid growth in sectors such as airports, construction, energy,ports, telecom, railways, road and retail,coupled with the influx of multinational companies have been the primary driving force for creating demand for the security industry. The government of India has also made its intention clear to revamp the country’s ailing infrastructure by announcing new airports, ports, and by building 100 smart cities across the nation. While implementing these schemes, it is necessary that the aspects of ‘safety’ and ‘security’ which are of prime concerns in urban areas are also incorporated.” PwC, the knowledge partner of IFSEC India launched a white paper on ‘Maximizing the benefits of a command and control Centre (CCC)’ that primarily talks about today’s key challenges of command and control Centre (CCC) utilization for the concept of operations, and co-locating various command centres for integrated operations. With the increasing focus on Homeland security in India, IFSEC India 2017 conducted a one day conference with the theme ‘Secure Nation and Safer Environment’ alongside the exhibition where relevant insights gained in the global security market were discussed. IFSEC India also convened their 2nd edition of IFSEC India Awards. The electronic security industry in India is proliferating and the awards were crafted to felicitate the minds behind the security of various industry verticals like BFSI, retail and manufacturing, energy, healthcare, PSUs, IT & ITES, and infrastructure in the limelight. The awards recognized the excellence and innovations of CSOs and security officers who continuously work behind the scenes to ensure robust security. With the need for robust and updated security technologies to gain momentum with each passing day, UBM India through IFSEC India 2017 showcased the latest know how in the industry and deciphered relevant insights gained in the global security market. It provided an opportunity to its exhibitors and visitors to discover the best solutions to keep their business and clients secure amongst a showcase of innovative products – Yogesh Mudras Managing Director, UBM India It is the ardent need for policy makers to get more serious about adopting technologies in homeland security due to the growing threats from terrorists and other extremist organisations – G. K. Pillai Chairman, DSCI & Former Home Secretary,Government of India UBM India has maintained its leadership in security industry yet again with its 11th edition ofIFSEC India 2017. The expo exhibited wide range of innovative security products and solutions, convened a one day conference on Homeland Security and Smart Cities in association with ASSOCHAM, and conducted an award ceremony for end users representing Government, Public sector and Private sectors. It is a true platform for security professionals to interact and develop knowledge – Anil Dhawan Co-Chairman, Homeland Security Committee, ASSOCHAM & Managing Director, DB Secure Solution Private Limited IFSEC provides an opportunity for the surveillance and system integrator industries to come together to exchange ideas, showcase the latest technologies and discuss industry issues and trends. As a leader in storage solutions for surveillance systems, Western Digital considers IFSEC to be an important event in our marketing calendar – Khwaja Saifuddin Sr. Sales Director, South Asia, ME & Africa, Western Digital
Security Skill and Leadership Summit 2017
The Central Association of Private Security Industry (CAPSI) and Association of Private Detectives and Investigators, India convened their 12th Annual Conference – Security Skills & Leadership Summit 2017 – during 16 and 17 December 2017 at the Le-Meridian, New Delhi. The conference was opened by Gen. V K Singh (Retd.), the Minister of State for External Affairs, GoI, who asked private security agencies to upgrade their skills and adopt modern technologies to make India a safer place. The conference was at-tended by security professionals from all over India. “Our security environment is changing fast; our streets may not be as Therefore, it is important for the private security agencies to wake up to the growing challenges related to public safety and security,” Gen. Singh said, “The sphere of private security agencies has increased many times and so have the challenges. The industry needs to look into the challenges of providing better trained and better equipped manpower.” CAPSI Chairperson, Kunwar Vikram Singh has written a comprehensive letter to Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, and sought his intervention in resolving long standing issues of the private security sector which have been hurting its growth,particularly those related to the unfair imposition of GST which is putting unfavorable financial burden on agencies,and the imposition of new draconian rule under which agency owners would be held guilty and penalized for the crimes committed by their guards. “Private security sector currently employs 70 lakh private security guards and supervisors working in 22,000 private security agencies. It is one of the largest private sector employers in India. The sector is growing at the annual rate of 22% and it is one of the largest corporate tax contributor as on date, but unfortunately it is yet in a neglected stature,” Kunwar Vikram Singh is said to have quoted in his letter to the Prime Minister. “We have urged the Prime Minister to pro-actively consider our demands and save the sector which could prove crucial for the success of Skill India and also in generating jobs,” he apprised the delegates, “The Prime Minister has asked the Union Home Ministry to look into our concerns on urgent basis.” “We further demanded that GST should be made applicable on reverse charge basis for the security agencies whereby service takers would be made liable to pay the tax, not the service providers. We work on 3-months credit and our payments are often delayed, nonetheless, we make the payment of salaries to our personnel in time. It is unaffordable for us to make an upfront payment of additional 18% GST. The GST regime is a setback and is badly hurting us. Many agencies have already been made to close their business due to this undesirable burden.If this continues, our sector will die in distress and lakhs of people will be renderd jobless,” Kunwar Vikram Singh added. The forum discussed the urgent need to amend the Private Security Agencies (Regulation) Act 2005, in consultation with the security agencies. A recent provision to penalize the employers for the crime committed by their guard is draconian and needs to be withdrawn immediately. Owners cannot be held accountable for the negligence of their guards or supervisors. The forum discussed the urgent need to amend the Private Security Agencies (Regulation) Act 2005, in consultation with the security agencies. A recent provision to penalize the employers for the crime committed by their guard is draconian and needs to be withdrawn immediately. Owners cannot be held accountable for the negligence of their guards or supervisors. “This is a highly objectionable rule which will lead to chaos, we demand its immediate withdrawal,” Mr. Singh continued. CAPSI also demands for a fair tender process by the government/ PSUs who often clear the tender of some private companies at 0% or nominal rates. This is not feasible and would promote corrupt and unethical business model. “We need a fair tender process by the government or public sector undertakings (PSUs) which is necessary to promote competition,” he added, “Any anti-competitive practice leads to cartelization and obstructs the sector’s growth.” NSDC has recently derecognized 200 training centers run by the security agencies across India in an abrupt manner, including those in semi-urban and rural areas. Their sudden closure and arbitrary change in policy have rendered many youth jobless. “This is against the spirit of Skill India,” CAPSI Chairman stated in astonishment, “On the contrary, today we need more centers in rural and semi-urban areas to improve job opportunities for the rural youth. Also, the certificates issued by these training centers and NSDC should be recognized by the state bodies which is surprisingly not the case at present.” The Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram addressed the valedictory ceremony and admired the private security sector for playing a significant role in creating employment opportunities for the tribal people. “Lakhs of tribal people are working today as security guards in metro cities, and IT hubs of Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune. Government is considering formulating a special policy whereby these tribals can be benefited from the Modi Government’s Skill India initiative, and which will improve their employability. It will also help in tackling the problem of Naxalism,” Mr. Oram said, “There are 136 tribal dominated districts where we plan to focus under Skill India programme.Private security is one such sector where our tribal people can get good employment opportunities. Tribals are the most honest and hardworking people and they are real asset for the country. We will take help from CAPSI to ensure more and more tribals can get good employment opportunities and help them join the national main stream.” As government cannot meet all the requirements of security, we are becoming more dependent on private security, particularly to private individuals and organizations. The private agencies should take on this…
Private Security Industry Conclave (PSIC) 2017
FICCI organised their fifth edition of PSIC on November 10, 2017 in New Delhi. PSIC is FICCI’s annual programme which aims to bring together experts from the Government, Industry, Controlling Authorities, user agencies, and other stakeholders to discuss and debate various policy and regulatory issues concerning the private security industry. Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India, delivered the key note address during a Special Interactive Session and released FICCI-PwC Report on Private Security Industry. Manjari Jaruhar, Chair, FICCI Committee on Private Security Industry and Former Special DG, CISF, said that the minimum qualification for becoming a constable in the police force was 12+, but the private security industry was providing employment opportunities to the youth at the grass root level, even to those who had completed only 7th or 8th standard. In his theme presentation, Rituraj Sinha, Co-Chair, FICCI Committee on Private Security Industry and Group COO, SIS India Ltd., said that the private security industry was estimated to be INR 40,000 crore in terms of revenue with per annum growth of 18-20 per cent. Session on Policy issues pertaining to Enforcement of (PSAR) Act, 2005 was chaired by Vivek Bhardwaj, Joint Secretary (Police Modernisation), Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. He addressed issues related to licences, verification, multiple regulations faced by the controlling authorities and also the PSAs pertaining to enforcement of PSARA. Chairing ‘Minimum standards/ guidelines for cash logistics companies,’ O. P. Mishra, Additional Secretary – Home, Govt. of NCT of Delhi mentioned that the Draft SOPs for secured cash handling & transportation has been modified by MHA and that will be coming out soon. He indicated that it is important that the training certificate issued to the security guard by one state should be recognized by all other states. The session further underlined that the standards once notified will act as a common guideline for all the operators dealing in cash business. Maj. Mandeep S. Garewal, Managing Director & Principal Consultant, Force Tech Security, as the chair of the panel on foreign investment gave a historical background on FDI scenario pertaining to the private security industry. The panel presented mixed views on the subject. The conference was attended by more than 120 delegates. There is a huge gap between private security industry and skill development ministry that needs to be attended. The private sector should consider and encourage Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) where private security workforce would be skilled, upskilled, and provided certification without any financial implication – Dharmendra Pradhan Minister of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Government of India The sector offered great employment opportunities as every year 3-5 lac new jobs are being created here. Besides, the categorization of private security workers as skilled and highly skilled workforce has benefitted the industry – Rituraj Sinha Co-Chair, FICCI Committee on Private Security & Group COO,SIS India Ltd. There is a need to make skilling robust for private security sector as it is lagging behind. The government should authorize more institutes to skill and upgrade manpower in the private security sector – Manjari Jaruhar Chair, FICCI Committee on Private Security & Former Special DG, CISF
SSSDC to Train Retiring Soldiers
SSSDC dons the mantle to prepare retiring soldiers for a second career after they retire, for the job roles of Security Supervisor, Private Security Officer and CCTV Supervisor. National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) has signed MoUs with the Army and the Navy to skill the retiring personnel in domain training. The soldiers and sailors are already experienced in platform skills for they have been imparting military training to their subordinates throughout their Army/ Navy service. SSSDC takes the responsibility to train them to comfortably adapt to the practices of the private security sector. Army personnel in great numbers have opted to associate with the Security Sector as trainers and assessors. With the announcement of the Government of various skilling schemes, the skilling mechanism in the country has expanded exponentially, thus providing tremendous opportunities for the employment of trainers and assessors. The industry is very keen to absorb such well-disciplined and honest workforce. A new focus on rehabilitating the soldiers on superannuation has been given impetus. It is well known that an Infantry Soldier often retires very early, at an average full of life age of 40 years, where one is left with a fair amount of energetic age to live. At this age, one can work in full swing, and can efficiently earn a decent livelihood by supplementing their pension. SSSDC is working with 19 regimental centers and have trained 13000 personnel till date. We at SSSDC are proud to attain the opportunity to train the retired Army and Navy personnel who are already proficient in platform skill. It is a matter of our great pleasure and satisfaction to help and enable them re-establish their second inning of life in a respectable way. I feel SSSDC is the best benefitted entity in this transaction – Kunwar Vikram Singh Chairman, SSSDC SSSDC through its training partner Force 10 Protection Services (P) Ltd is imparting training to the retired Navy personnel under the scheme of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). Force 10 have two training centers approved from NSDC as per the international standards. They have trained about 700 personnel till now. Director General Resettlement conducts various courses for the retiring personnel of the Armed Forces in order to facilitate them pursuing a second career. The courses designed for retiring NCO/ JCO/ Officers in the security domain vary from the National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF) levels, ranging from five to six. The courses are conducted by the nominated training centers. For the current financial year, DGR has allocated 1500 vacancies in various job roles of Level 5 for the security domain. SSSDC lays great importance to the prestigious DGR Project and would exert its optimum to ensure that the project is executed in a flawless manner.
The International Conference on Cyberlaw, Cybercrime & Cybersecurity
India hosted the International Conference on Cyberlaw, Cybercrime & Cybersecurity – a congregation of some of the best minds on cyberspace issues across the world during 16 & 17 November 2017 in New Delhi. The Conference was organized by Cyberlaws.Net & Pavan Duggal Associates, Advocates. The Conference was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India, Justice Dipak Misra. He stressed upon the need for concentrating on emerging legal, policy and regulatory issues concerning cyberspace, and the need for all stakeholders including lawmakers and judiciary to be more aware about the nuances of emerging cyber technologies. He highlighted the growing necessity for the judiciary to be up-todate with the latest trends concerning cyberspace as the said issues would be coming before them for adjudication in the coming times. Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the conference, Steven Wilson, Head, EUROPOL Cybercrime Centre highlighted the practical dangers that cyber criminals are posing to states and other stakeholders across the world, and how there is a need for coordinated international approach to deal with emerging challenges concerning cybercrimes and the darknet. He specifically pointed out the misuse of Internet of Things by cyber criminals, and also the increased use of the Darknet and increasing cyber security breaches are the new realities of today. The Conference Director Pavan Duggal, Advocate, Supreme Court of India and an internationally renowned expert and authority on Cyberlaw and Cybersecurity welcomed the delegates and highlighted the very rapidly evolving yet changing landscape concerning Cyberlaw in the digital ecosystem, and the need for lawmakers and all stakeholders to deal with the legal and policy issues concerning cyberspace in a more effective, holistic and pragmatic manner. He further highlighted the need for nations to come up with dedicated cyber security legislations to deal with increased breaches of cyber security as also emphasized the need for more international work to be done on attribution of cyber acts. He pointed out the significance of cyber sovereignty and how different nations are adopting different approaches to protect and preserve their cyber security. The Conference had dozens of distinct sessions with more than 150 speakers across the world. Some of the prominent speakers at the conference included Ajay Prakash Sawhney, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India; Alfredo M. Ronchi, General Secretary of the European Commission- MEDICI Framework; Aruna Sundararajan, Secretary, Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications, Government of India; Dr. Ajay Kumar, Additional Secretary, Department of Electronics & Information Technology, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India; Dr. Gulshan Rai, Chief Information Security Officer, Prime Minister’s Office, Gov- ernment of India; Dr. Vikram Singh, IPS, Former Director General of Police, Uttar Pradesh Police; Stuti Narain Kacker, Chairperson, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), and so on. Hon’ble Mr. Justice Kurian Joseph, Judge Supreme Court of India chaired the extremely interesting session on Cybercrime, which came up with interesting recommendations on how to tackle with the emerging challenges of cybercrime in today’s scenario. The Conference further came up with the Outcome Document which highlighted various specific outcomes of the Conference including steps that need to be taken by the international and national stakeholders in order to further address legal, policy and regulatory issues concerning cyberspace. The Valedictory Session of the Conference was addressed by Hon’ble Justice Madan B. Lokur, Judge, Supreme Court of India, and Hon’ble Justice Ms. Gita Mittal, Acting Chief Justice of Delhi High Court.
International Conference & Exhibition on Homeland Security
Homeland Security Committee of ASSOCHAM has conducted 6th International Conference and Exhibition on Homeland Security on 16 and 17 November 2017, at NDMC Centre, New Delhi. ASSOCHAM conceptualized and took up the initiatives to organised annual conferences on Homeland Security just after the sad incident of terrorist attack in Mumbai in November 2008. The two-day event was spread over five selected sessions on the topics of major importance for the Industry, which are as follows – Safeguarding ports, metros, railways, and transportation systems with intelligent solutions. Disaster management including managing radioactive and biological threats. Security of educational institutions. Operational challenges in counter insurgency, and their solutions. Border area management: Challenges and opportunities. Role of technology in smart policing. Cyber forensic and data analytics. The 1st day conference was inaugurated by Hansraj Ganga Ram Ahir, the Minister of State for Home affairs, Government of India; whereas Jitender Singh, Minister of State, Prime Minister Office Personnel, Government of India inaugurated the sessions on 17th. The event was attended by more than 300 participants which comprised all the stakeholders of the industry including manufacturers, OEMs, distributors and dealers, system integrators, and end users. The two-day forum highlighted various areas of concern and made strong deliberations among the stakeholders to bring about pertinent recommendations which government could consider while forming policies. The concept of accepting Make in India products was given stronger consideration than the current adoption of imported equipment, as the quality and application of our own products would be more result oriented. This can be enabled by making a government forum that can share security application requirements directly with the manufacturers and system integrators; departments such as BPRD and Police Modernization can play a leading role to let it happen. Solutions to counter insurgency lack features for specific local area environment. Costly equipment fails in the exact hour of need. Prior discussions of related case studies by paramilitary authorities with the industry will help design and manufacture apt solutions with least failure rates. A working committee for National Police University along with due representation from the industry in drafting the curriculum based on actual requirement of the end user will help bring security courses to understand and meet actual requirements of the public and private organizations better. This will bring more educated and trained security personnel, and will also create employment opportunities in the industry. The forum was majorly against the foreign direct investment in the security services sector, and for a Government Electronic Marketing Portal which can help in registering the products in the right categories of GeM. The forum also asked the Government to help in effective implantation of the UAV-Drone policy in coordination with the industry. The conference deliberated for a very clear and strong policy to define security rules to be implemented by educational institute, similar to the fire authority’s regulations. It should be mandatory to adopt them by every institute irrespective it is a normal school, college or university. It was discussed to recommend the government to share the case studies of smart city concepts implemented by the government with the industry highlighting the areas of successful implementation and utility, and also the areas lacking the desired results. This will help in bringing the missing solutions by the industry based on new business opportunity. A comprehensive security knowledge paper prepared by the knowledge partners Ernst & Young LLP was formally released to help the stakeholders get an insightful and material understanding of the key drivers, sector-specific challenges, digital solutions and way forward for providing the citizens of this nation a safe and secure and harmonious way of life. ASSOCHAM is the leading chamber of Commerce with members representing various industries and associations. It works closely with its members by conducting sector wise meetings, conferences and summits to facilitate issues pertaining to the growth and stability of country’s economy.
Industry CEOs Comments on 2017 at a Glance
2017 witnessed various ups and downs across business communities in India, including Private Security Industry, in pursuance of multiple reforming policy and regulatory initiatives taken by the Government of India. While calls for Make in India, Digital India and Skill India, Safe City and Smart Cities, and other critical infrastructure development projects have opened far-reaching opportunities for the industry to flourish, demonetization and implementation of GST have been ordered to keep a hold on the unaccounted transactions, corruption, and other malpractices during business deals. The private security industry is one of the fastest growing business of the country which has been growing at the rate of more that 20% in recent past, much higher than the global growth rate, and various reports suggest that it would continue to grow at the similar rate. When the year is now heading to close, SecurityLink India spoke to some eminent players of the Indian Security Industry to find the actual experiences they have been through. Here are some excerpts: Sanjeev Sehgal, Founder & Managing Director, SPARSH SecurityLink India: About six months on, what is your take on GST and the implementation thereof for you and the security industry at large? Sanjeev Sehgal: Today, there are less complexities when we sell products from one state to the other; now we don’t have to pay multiple taxes like CST, Entry Tax, Octroi etc. This would certainly be helpful in expanding market nationally. Things have become less complicated now. However, the biggest challenge which GST has offered is the payment of GST at the time of removal of stocks from the factory, even in the case of branch transfers. It is adding pressure on working capital requirements, which is always a major issue for manufacturers. GST is turning India into one common market, leading to greater ease of doing business and big savings in logistics costs. SecurityLink India: How has the ‘Make in India’ call impacted you and the entire security industry so far? Sanjeev Sehgal: The ‘Make in India’ initiative gives distributors in security systems a platform to reach out to people through an organized method. Since its launch, the Make in India initiative has started showing results. Increased production outputs and growing FDI into India are seen as a result of the initiative. IP video surveillance and CCTV are quickly becoming the norm in public spaces. With the security industry slated to grow to a INR 80,000 crore industry by the year 2020, the ‘Make in India’ initiative has already given this industry a major boost towards that direction. SecurityLink India: Kindly name and give a brief about the products and solutions that you floated during 2017. Sanjeev Sehgal: The security market is experiencing an upward trend in upcoming technologies. We at Sparsh have successfully introduced contemporary trends in the surveillance market with Cloud surveillance. We have recently introduced an Indian cloud computing platform, developed indigenously in India. Remote monitoring, Wi-Fi integrated solutions and customized solutions for specific verticals are some of the upcoming technologies in the security solutions market developed by Sparsh. These aid in solutions such as ANPR, critical infrastructure, border security etc. SecurityLink India: Which are the major projects you accomplished this year? Sanjeev Sehgal: This year we have bagged some prestigious projects such as Delhi schools, FCI, CISF etc. SecurityLink India: What are your plans for the new year? Sanjeev Sehgal: In the forthcoming years, we would like to take the idea of ‘Made in India’ and ‘Make in India’ to a global platform as a leading CCTV manufacturer of India. Sparsh as a brand will target Government, Safe City, Smart City and SMB market and which is the large and sizable business opportunity for us. In the Union Budget, there were many provisions for ‘Make in India.’ We are benefited by such initiatives as an indigenous Indian manufacturing company and brand. Smart Home solution will be another area we would be targeting for growth. In the near future we have plans to launch many new products in this space. Robbin Shen, Director, India & SAARC, Dahua Technology SecurityLink India: How would you rate this year for you in terms of business opportunities and procurements in India? Robbin Shen: 2017 has been a successful year for Dahua as our security products and solutions have been well received and accepted in the market for their intrinsic strengths such as high quality, durability, reliability, and the capacity to function in all weather conditions. Thus we can claim it has been an excellent year for us. SecurityLink India: India has jumped 30 places to 100 in the World Bank’s ‘Ease of Doing Business’ Index. What does your wide-ranging experience in security industry suggest? Robbin Shen: The current Government of India has taken a number of industry-friendly measures such as Smart Cities, Safe Cities, Digital India, and recently the implementation of GST. They have certainly made favorable impact on the prospect and ease of doing business environment in the country, albeit, it has yet to go a long way at the regional and local levels. India has enormous potential and it will become a major market for us. SecurityLink India: About six months on, what is your take on GST and the implementation thereof for you and the security industry at large? Robbin Shen: We welcome the GST initiative taken by the Indian Government. It has reduced the prices of many security items from 28 percent to 18 per cent. There are suggestions to reduce the rate further which, if implemented, will be a boon to all the stakeholders from manufacturers to customers. As prices decline affordability increases, and that makes more people to install security devices to safeguard their lives and properties. SecurityLink India: Kindly name and give a brief about the products and solutions that you floated during 2017. Robbin Shen: We have launched a number of security products, solutions and latest technologies – mainly Extended Power over Ethernet Devices or ePoE including network cameras, switches and network recorders….