Be aware of cyber warfare, equip police to combat threats: Vice President 

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Addresses 48th Foundation Day of Bureau of Police Research & Development 

The Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that the era of New Age cyber warfare, and the new enemy can be combated only through the power of knowledge. He was addressing the gathering on the occasion of 48th Foundation Day of Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D), here today. The Minister of State for Home Affairs,  Kiren Rijiju and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.

The Vice President cautioned against the cyber attacks by hackers working over the Internet thousands of miles away and asked police to be equipped to handle attacks that jeopardize national security. He further asked the BPR&D to evolve best practices, policies and procedures in policing to combat emerging new age National Security threats.

The Vice President said that knowledge and competence of our police forces and the ability to innovate, improvise and implement will be critical in strengthening national security. We need a “Surakshit Bharat” as much as a “Samruddh Bharat” and we cannot have a “Surakshit Bharat” without a “Saksham Bharat”, he added.

The Vice President said that Indian Government has taken various measures to prevent cyber attacks and stressed on the need to augment police response capacities. He further said that the set up for combating the new enemy in Cyber Space can no longer be housed within the walls of a seemingly secure single government agency.

The Vice President called for a reorientation of the existing paradigm and said that all security agencies must work in close coordination and also with the private sector manning to establish a foolproof ecosystem.

The Vice President said that the Government & private sector must establish joint mechanisms to protect the police a force against the future challenges, including, the threats of modern warfare. All police forces of the country have to equip themselves with the cyber forensic techniques and knowledge to counter a cyber-attack or investigate a cyber-crime, he added.

VP said, “I am happy to attend the Foundation Day Function of Bureau of Police Research and Development, a national body under the Ministry of Home Affairs, which integrates all State Police Forces, Central Police Armed Forces and Central Police Organizations and Correctional Administrative set up of the country.  I am aware that the Bureau is responsible for undertaking systemic studies of police and prison problems with the objective to improve the quality of delivery of police and correctional services throughout the country. The Bureau also conducts regular training programmes to improve the professionalism of the police force in the country and ensure that it is well-equipped to respond effectively to the changing social situations.”

he went on, “I am sure that BPR&D, as the national think tank on policing, will constantly come up with concrete suggestions to improve and bring policing in India on par with global standards by adopting the best practices. With the Bureau focusing on National Police Mission Projects, it must open new vistas of knowledge for the police forces. Methods and techniques adopted by the police must be scientific. I am told that as part of improving the methods and techniques of policing, the BPR&D actively engages scholars, professionals, businessmen, industrialists, NGOs and various social justice organisations in its work. This collaboration between experts in various domains and the police forces is important in the present era of knowledge based society. Moreover, today, without a single shot fired or a drop of blood spilled, an entire country can be crippled.”

he added, “This is the era of New Age Warfare, the cyber warfare, and the new enemy can be combated only through the power of knowledge. Unlike the spies of the Cold War era, when collaborators would provide access to secret documents to physically copy and photograph documents, the new age spies do not need any physical access. Working over the Internet thousands of miles away, the hackers can suck out thousands of secret documents, jeopardising national security.

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The Indian Government has taken various measures to prevent cyber attacks. The National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) was created and placed under the technical intelligence agency, the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO), to roll out counter-measures in cooperation with other security agencies and private corporate entities that man critical sectors. However, any new threat has to be countered by augmenting police response capacities. The set up for combating the new enemy in cyber space, can no longer be housed within the walls of a seemingly secure single government agency. All police forces of the country have to equip themselves with the cyber forensic techniques and knowledge to counter a cyber-attack or investigate a cyber-crime.