The 12th India Security Summit was organized by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) in New Delhi on 28th August 2019. Dr. Jitendra Singh, Honorable Minister of State (Independent Charge) for the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region and Minister of State for Prime Minister's Office; Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; Department of Atomic Energy and Department of Space, Shri G. Kishan Reddy, Honorable Minister of State for Home Affairs, Dr. Neeta Verma, Director General, NIC, and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.

Based on the theme, “Towards New National Cyber Security Strategy”, the Summit witnessed deliberations on the protection of critical national infrastructure as well as emerging cyber threats: incidents, challenges and response.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that Indian society has gone through rapid evolution as far as technology, special communication technology is concerned. ‘Digital culture’ is being transferred from generation to generations. Every technology has a utility. Similarly, cyber technology is a big boom nowadays. But besides being a boon, the same technology has become one of the greatest threat.

“The concept of security has itself undergone change in the last few decades. It has assumed proportions; external as well as internal. It is important to understand that terrorism is terrorism and there cannot be a distinction based on caste, creed and religion. We need to set the priorities”, the Honorable Minister added. He also expressed hope that threat of cyber security will be overcome soon and we will find ways to deal with the cyber threat.

Underscoring the complications associated with cyber security, Shri G. Kishan Reddy, in his address, said, “We live in a digital world. Security is one of the challenging areas that all of us have to think upon. As we are adopting different technologies, we are also facing different challenges particularly on cyber security. Cyber security is the need of the hour for cyber safe society. New tools and technologies must be developed at faster rate for cyber security.”

He further added, “Cyber security is crucial for digital governance and its broad ecosystem. The government has taken various measures to counter cyber threats. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has rolled out a scheme ‘Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C)’ to combat cyber crime in the country, in a coordinated and effective manner.” He also mentioned about the “Cyber Swachhta Kendra”, which is a part of the Government of India's Digital India initiative under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). 

Putting forth an in-depth perspective on the need to combat cyber incidents, Dr. Neeta Verma said that India is the third largest user of internet and the cyber crime has increased manifold in the recent years. She said that various steps are taken by the government to provide cyber security. She emphasized on the efforts by all stakeholders to supplement the efforts of the government and outlined that this is not one time task but an ongoing and joint responsibility of all of us.