In july last year our government released a 10 page document known as “National Cyber Security Policy”. you can download it from here: Link. I want to cover an important point from the document which is relevant to enthusiasts of this field and also to the industry:
1. To create a workforce of 500,000 professionals in cyber-security in the next 5 years through capacity building, skill development and training. (to some of the smaller nations this number is mind boggling! yes, we need that many people in next 5 years! )
2. Government has started creating CERCs (Cyber security education and research center), like the first one launched recently at IIIT Delhi. ( http://cerc.iiitd.ac.in/ )
I am told that at least half of the budget (INR 1000 Crores, roughly 200 Million USD) will go towards this capacity building initiative. However, to my knowledge it seems that we might not have enough trained experts in the country to train all these professionals.
1. (On meeting the training needs) : One solution that I can think is if Indian universities can partner with security groups around the world and roll out MOOCs (massively open online courses) focusing on information security that can enable us to get their faster and provide this education to the interested!
2. (On mass sensitization) : Other approach that can come handy for citizen education is creating intuitive mobile apps, which have a 101 on cyber-security. That should be a one time effort but can be updated from time to time basis the new threats come in governments knowledge!
In 2014, MixORG has started a special focus on information dissemination related to cyber-security research and education. We are writing a 5 post series summarizing some of our research focusing on new media threats and opportunities for India #cybersecurityeducationforIndia
Thanks
-sachin
