India: Preference to Local Cyber-Security Products

October 10, 2017

meity.gov.in

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has recently introduced a draft notification with the objective of providing preference to domestically manufactured or produced cyber security products by all procuring entities. This step has been taken in furtherance of the Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order, 2017 issued by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) to encourage manufacturing and production of goods and services in India with a view to enhancing income and employment.

The Ministry through this proposal aims to boost domestic cyber-security technology development by giving preference to good quality domestic products in government procurement. It covers all cyber-security products, meaning hereby any product or appliance or software manufactured or produced for the purpose of maintain confidentiality, availability and integrity of information by protecting computing devices, infrastructure, programs, data from attack, damage or unauthorized access.

The technology and its increasing accessibility in the interconnected world has revolutionized the lives of people in multiple spheres by facilitating everyday transactions virtually. Efforts are made to ascertain the safety of these media to reinforce genuine and legal use. With the changing paraphernalia, the criminal intent has also become technically and financially more advanced. This has resulted in growing concern for the requirement of cyber-security products which protect against the cyber-attacks by unscrupulous cyber-attackers preventing the fulfillment of their mala-fide intentions. These products cater varied requirements depending upon the user and include web security, antivirus, data protection, prevention of data loss, network security to name a few.

Owing to their great importance, the demand for cyber-security products is increasing which are met by number of suppliers on a world-vide level attributable to the economic integration provided by globalization. With regards to products in the cyber security area, foreign firms are generally relied upon. It is of paramount importance to ensure that the security concerning the confidential information is not flouted to from the end of the cyber-security providers via backdoor access which allow gaining access and control of a system by remote administration through tampering of the system’s code. One of the remedies that come to the rescue to such a situation is the use of domestically made cyber-security products.

The pragmatic approach of the Government in bringing forth the policy of public procurement of domestically manufactured cyber-security products serves as a multifaceted solution. The products so manufactured would not only prevent backdoor access and data theft by foreign entities but would also ensure compliance to the Indian standards, ethics and guidelines. It would also strengthen the aim of “Make in India” thereby promoting the manufacture of cyber-security products in India.

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