E-governance has become a buzzword and leverages the vast IT capital the country has created to benefit a larger population. Information stored within the government institutions (defence records, tax records, or health records) is growing manifold. This leads to increased focus on creating an IT infrastructure that can handle the rapid technological changes, as well as secure and manage growing volumes of information.
The Indian Government is undertaking various mega-projects to digitize information, with the intention to deliver services to citizens in a more streamlined and effective manner. A recent example is the UID project, considered to be one of the largest information management initiatives in the world, which brings various elements of information about citizens in a central database. This is leading to an explosion of digital information that is increasingly also dispersed across various devices such as smartphones, tablets and more significantly, the cloud.
However, growth in data volumes is also being accompanied by the rising sophistication and targeted nature of cyber threats. Symantec observed over 286 million new threats in 2010 globally, according to the latest Internet Security Threat Report XVI. The report also revealed that India ranked sixth for overall malicious activities in 2010, up from 11th in 2008.
Today, state and local governments face a challenge of securing their sensitive information in addition to modernizing infrastructure. Some of the key requirements that government institutions need to consider include:
• Protecting confidential data residing in various endpoints, network and storage systems to reduce risks.
• Automating key compliance and security processes to reduce risk and operational costs.
• Recovering citizen information in response to accidental loss of data, intentional data misuse or a disaster.
Recognizing the seriousness and importance of information security, the Indian Government recently issued a directive to all Sarkari Bhavans to deploy intrusion prevention systems, with the objective of preventing attackers from entering the network.
However, government organizations first need to anticipate and identify threats. One cannot hope to have security without intelligence. Networks do not know borders and given the advent of remote users, this is becoming more evident each day. As a result information collection on attacks, techniques, methods and vulnerabilities needs to be constant and vigilant.
Along with the continuously evolving threat landscape, the insider threat to data has also become a significant danger, especially in the context of the numerous devices and platforms on which data is accessed anywhere and anytime. From the well meaning insider who clicks on a malicious link to the employee who may copy confidential information on to a thumb drive for personal benefits, the insider threat can be addressed through the technology that identifies the most valuable information and protects it no matter where it resides — at rest or in motion. Data loss prevention technology also automates the implementation of policies and reduces risky actions to create a culture of security in the organization.
Governments need to make sure that critical services/systems remain available for as long as possible and that these services/systems can be quickly recovered in the clearly defined timeframe after an attack. According to Symantec’s Critical Infrastructure Protection Survey 2010, 43 percent of Indian critical infrastructure providers said attempts to shutdown or degrade their computer network were effective. Critical Infrastructure Protection is not limited to protecting government and defense infrastructure, but extends to both publicly and privately run infrastructure such as telephone networks, power generation and distribution, oil refineries and gas pipelines. These are the industries that always need to be available and any downtime can have significant societal impact and even threaten national security.
As the pace of information growth accelerates and the digital infrastructure expands, Governments have more to manage than ever before. It now requires a focus on security continuity that allows it to continuously respond to internal and external changes.
Governments need to develop and implement an information-centric security strategy that is risk-based and policy driven, and operationalized across a well managed infrastructure. Such a strategy will help them secure and manage the connected world and deliver confidence to citizens that their information and identities are safe.