Govt Pushes for Cybersecurity Readiness in Smart Cities with Dedicated CISOs and Control Centres
Union Home Secretary emphasized appointing CISOs in every city to strengthen cybersecurity, urging smart cities to build in-house capabilities and continue securing critical digital infrastructure and services.
Tech Author
It's more important than ever to keep Indian cities' systems safe from cyber threats as they get smarter and offer more digital services. Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan pointed out at a recent meeting about cybersecurity preparedness of Indian cities that every city should hire a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). This job is very important to keep sensitive data and digital infrastructure safe from increasing cyberattacks.
He additionally advised state and city governments to stay alert and examine their networks and security systems on a regular basis. Union Home Secretary said that cities shouldn't depend only on outside consultants or private companies. Instead, they should build up their own expertise to manage and protect their digital systems.
Top officials from the Ministry of Electronics and IT, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Urban Affairs, and the Intelligence Bureau were all at the meeting. Representatives from UIDAI and several state governments were also there. Officials said that as more and more urban services, like water supply, transport and property records, go online, cyber threats have become a major concern.
India's 100 smart cities are becoming more and more centred on technology, so even a small cyberattack could stop important services from working. That's why it's so important to have strong cybersecurity, trained professionals, and up-to-date systems.
In response to these concerns, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs also said it would start a "new scheme to support the smart cities." This will make sure that the progress made in integrating data and technology doesn't stop. The Centre also plans to keep helping the 100 common command and control centres , which are the smart cities' digital backbones.
Cybersecurity is no longer optional in today's connected world; it's a necessity. Smart cities need to be smart not only in terms of technology but also in how they keep their digital assets safe and make sure that people are safe online.
This article is based on information from Times of India
