Securing Digital Future: Telangana's CISO Initiative
Introduction
In order to effectively deal with growing cyber crime and threats the Telangana police has taken initiative by launching Law Enforcement Chief Information Security Officers (CISO) Council, an innovative project launched in Telangana, India, which is a significant response to the growing cyber threat landscape. With cyber incidents increasing in the recent years and concerning statistics such as a tenfold rise in password-based attacks and an increase in ransomware attacks, the Council aims to strengthen the region's digital defenses. It primarily focuses on reducing vulnerability, improving resilience, and providing real-time threat intelligence. By promoting partnerships between the public and private sectors, offering legal and regulatory guidance, and facilitating networking and learning opportunities, this collaborative effort involving industry, academia, and law enforcement is a crucial move towards protecting critical infrastructure and businesses from cyber threats, the Telangana police in partnership with industry and academia, has launched the Law Enforcement CISO (Chief Information Security Officers) Council of India on 7th October 2023. Chief of the Central Crime Station Stephen Ravindra said that the forum is a path-breaking initiative and the Council represents an open platform for all the enforcement agencies in the country. The upcoming inititiative inculcate close association with different stakeholders, which includes government departments, startups, centers of excellence and international collaborations, carving a nieche for a sturdy cybersecurity envirnoment.
Enhancing Cybersecurity is the Need of the Hour:
The recent launch of the Law Enforcement CISO Council in Hyderabad, India emphasized the need for government organizations and industries to prioritize the protection of their digital space. Cyber incidents, ransomware attacks, and threats to critical infrastructure have been on the rise, making it essential to take proactive cybersecurity measures. Disturbing statistics regarding cyber threats, such as password-based attacks, BEC (Business Email Compromise) attempts, and vulnerabilities in the supply chain, highlight the importance of addressing these issues urgently. This initiative aims to provide real-time threat intelligence, legal guidance, and encourages collaboration between public and private organizations in order to combat cybercrime. Given that every cyber attack has criminal elements, the establishment of these councils is a crucial step towards minimizing vulnerabilities, enhancing resilience, and ensuring the security of our digital world.
International Issue & Domestic Issue:
The announcement by the Telangana State Police, is a proactive step to form a first-of-its-kind Law Enforcement CISO Council (LECC), as part of an initiative from the State government to give a further impetus to cyber security. Jointly with its law enforcement partners, the Telangana Police has decided to make cyber cops more efficient and shape them on par with the technology advancements. The Telangana police have proved its commitment for a secure cyber environment by recovering INR 2.2 crore and INR 6.8 crore lost by people in cyber frauds which is industry’s highest rate of helping the victims.
The Police department complemented efforts by corporate executives for their personal interest in the subject and mentioned police officers’ expertise and inputs from professionals from the industry need to work cohesively to prevent further increase in the number of cyber crime cases. Data indicates that the exponential increase in cyber threats in recent times necessitates an informed and prudent action with the cooperation and collaboration of the IT Department of Telangana, centers of excellence, start-ups, white hats or ethical hackers, and international associations.
A report from Telangana commissioner states the trend of a surge in the number of cyber incidents and vulnerabilities of Government organizations, Critical Infrastructure and MSMEs and stressed that every cyber security breaches have an element of criminality in it. The Law Enforcement CISO Council is a progressive step in this direction which ensures a reduced cyber attacks, enhanced resilience, actionable strategic and tactical real-time threat intelligence, legal guidance, opportunities for public private partnerships, networking, learning and much more.
The Secretary of SCSC, shared some alarming statistics on the threats that are currently rampant across the digital world. To combat it in today’s era of widespread digital dependence, the program launched by the Telangana Police stands as a commendable step or an initiative that offers a glimmer of aspiration. It brings together all the heroes who want to protect the digital spaces and counter the growing number of threats.
Contribution of Telangana Police for carving a niche to be followed:
The launch of the Law Enforcement CISO Council in Telangana represents a pivotal step in addressing the pressing challenges posed by escalating cyber threats. As highlighted by the Director General of Police, the initiative recognizes the critical need to combat cybercrime, which is growing at an alarming rate. The Council not only acknowledges the casual approach often taken towards cybersecurity but also aims to rectify it by fostering collaboration between law enforcement, industry, and academia.
One of the most significant positive aspects of this initiative is its commitment to sharing intelligence, ensuring that the hard-earned lessons from cyber fraud victims are translated into protective measures for others. By collaborating with the IT Department of Telangana, centers of excellence, startups, and ethical hackers, the Council is poised to develop robust Standard Operating Protocols (SOPs) and innovative tools to counter cyber threats effectively.
Moreover, the Council's emphasis on Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) underscores its proactive approach in dealing with the evolving landscape of cyber threats. It offers a platform for networking and learning, enabling information sharing, and will contribute to reducing the attack surface, enhancing resilience, and providing real-time threat intelligence. Additionally, the Council will provide legal and regulatory guidance, which is crucial in navigating the complex realm of cybercrime. This collective effort represents a promising way forward in safeguarding digital spaces, critical infrastructure, and industries against cyber threats and ensuring a safer digital future for all.
Conclusion:
The Law Enforcement CISO Council in Telangana is an innovative effort to strengthen cybersecurity in the state. With the rise in cybercrimes and vulnerabilities, the council brings together expertise from various sectors to establish a strong defense against digital threats. Its goals include reducing vulnerabilities, improving resilience, and ensuring timely threat intelligence. Additionally, the council provides guidance on legal and regulatory matters, promotes collaborations between the public and private sectors, and creates opportunities for networking and knowledge-sharing. Through these important initiatives, the CISO Council will play a crucial role in establishing digital security and protecting the state from cyber threats.
References:
- http://www.uniindia.com/telangana-police-launches-india-s-first-law-enforcement-ciso-council/south/news/3065497.html
- https://indtoday.com/telangana-police-launched-indias-first-law-enforcement-ciso-council/
- https://www.technologyforyou.org/telangana-police-launched-indias-first-law-enforcement-ciso-council/
- https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/victims-of-cyber-fraud-get-back-rs-2-2-cr-lost-money-in-bank-a/cs/articleshow/104226477.cms?from=mdr
Related Blogs
In an era defined by perpetual technological advancement, the hitherto uncharted territories of the human experience are progressively being illuminated by the luminous glow of innovation. The construct of privacy, once a straightforward concept involving personal secrets and solitude, has evolved into a complex web of data protection, consent, and digital rights. This notion of privacy, which often feels as though it elusively ebbs and flows like the ghost of a bygone epoch, is now confronted with a novel intruder – neurotechnology – which promises to redefine the very essence of individual sanctity.
Why Neuro Rights
At the forefront of this existential conversation lie ventures like Elon Musk's Neuralink. This company, which finds itself at the confluence of fantastical dreams and tangible reality, teases a future where the contents of our thoughts could be rendered as accessible as the words we speak. An existence where machines not only decipher our mental whispers but hold the potential to echo back, reshaping our cognitive landscapes. This startling innovation sets the stage for the emergence of 'neurorights' – a paradigm aimed at erecting a metaphorical firewall around the synapses and neurons that compose our innermost selves.
At institutions such as the University of California, Berkeley, researchers, under the aegis of cognitive scientists like Jack Gallant, are already drawing the map of once-inaccessible territories within the mind. Gallant's landmark study, which involved decoding the brain activity of volunteers as they absorbed visual stimuli, opened Pandora's box regarding the implications of mind-reading. The paper published a decade ago, was an inchoate step toward understanding the narrative woven within the cerebral cortex. Although his work yielded only a rough sketch of the observed video content, it heralded an era where thought could be translated into observable media.
The Growth
This rapid acceleration of neuro-technological prowess has not gone unnoticed on the sociopolitical stage. In a pioneering spirit reminiscent of the robust legislative eagerness of early democracies, Chile boldly stepped into the global spotlight in 2021 by legislating neurorights. The Chilean senate's decision to constitutionalize these rights sent ripples the world over, signalling an acknowledgement that the evolution of brain-computer interfaces was advancing at a daunting pace. The initiative was spearheaded by visionaries like Guido Girardi, a former senator whose legislative foresight drew clear parallels between the disruptive advent of social media and the potential upheaval posed by emergent neurotechnology.
Pursuit of Regulation
Yet the pursuit of regulation in such an embryonic field is riddled with intellectual quandaries and ethical mazes. Advocates like Allan McCay articulate the delicate tightrope that policy-makers must traverse. The perils of premature regulation are as formidable as the risks of a delayed response – the former potentially stifling innovation, the latter risking a landscape where technological advances could outpace societal control, engendering a future fraught with unforeseen backlashes.
Such is the dichotomy embodied in the story of Ian Burkhart, whose life was irrevocably altered by the intervention of neurotechnology. Burkhart's experience, transitioning from quadriplegia to digital dexterity through sheer force of thought, epitomizes the utopic potential of neuronal interfaces. Yet, McCay issues a solemn reminder that with great power comes great potential for misuse, highlighting contentious ethical issues such as the potential for the criminal justice system to over extend its reach into the neural recesses of the human psyche.
Firmly ensconced within this brave new world, the quest for prudence is of paramount importance. McCay advocates for a dyadic approach, where privacy is vehemently protected and the workings of technology proffered with crystal-clear transparency. The clandestine machinations of AI and the danger of algorithmic bias necessitate a vigorous, ethical architecture to govern this new frontier.
As legal frameworks around the globe wrestle with the implications of neurotechnology, countries like India, with their burgeoning jurisprudence regarding privacy, offer a vantage point into the potential shape of forthcoming legislation. Jurists and technology lawyers, including Jaideep Reddy, acknowledge ongoing protections yet underscore the imperativeness of continued discourse to gauge the adequacy of current laws in this nascent arena.
Conclusion
The dialogue surrounding neurorights emerges, not merely as another thread in our social fabric, but as a tapestry unto itself – intricately woven with the threads of autonomy, liberty, and privacy. As we hover at the edge of tomorrow, these conversations crystallize into an imperative collective undertaking, promising to define the sanctity of cognitive liberty. The issue at hand is nothing less than a societal reckoning with the final frontier – the safeguarding of the privacy of our thoughts.
References:
Introduction
The .com boom led to a massive surge in the expansion of digitised and automated operations in all industries and organisations, which in turn beagle a wholesome transition to the digital age for all netizens, organisations and industries. All the big techs in today’s time were startups or not even in existence back when this boom began, but just in 3-4 decades, we see that a massive faction of the global population is dependent directly or indirectly on big techs for some or the other services. As the world of tech expands, so does the big tech, and hence, in the previous decades, we have seen some acquisitions by big tech companies. The biggest acquisition by tech was last seen in 2023 when the social media giant Facebook (Now META) acquired the famous messaging platform Whatsapp for $13 Billion, but now, almost after a decade, the world is ready to witness the biggest acquisition as Adobe confirms its plans to acquire Figma the leading web-first collaborative design platform.
Adobe - Figma Acquisition
The illustrator developer Adobe has been the pioneer in developing designing tools since 1982. The founder of the company made a switch from the paper company Xerox, and hence, the operations and products of the company have been oriented towards paper and design. But as the company is already a pioneer in developing designing and editing tools, the impact of AI cannot be underestimated. Hence, this acquisition comes at a critical juncture in impacting the AI-driven product market.
Adobe wants to use digital experiences to transform the world. Adobe provides the tools and platforms that power the digital economy today, and over the course of its existence, its innovations have positively impacted billions of people worldwide. Adobe continues to invent and modify categories, having revolutionised photography and creative expression with Photoshop, pioneered electronic documents with PDF, and created the digital marketing category with Adobe Experience Cloud.
The goals of Figma are to facilitate visual teamwork and provide accessibility to design for all. The company, which was founded in 2012 by Dylan Field and Evan Wallace, was a pioneer in online product design. Thanks to multi-player workflows, advanced design systems, and a large, expandable developer environment, it is now enabling collaboration for anybody designing interactive mobile and online applications. Millions of fresh designers and developers, as well as a devoted student base, have been drawn to Figma.
By working together, Adobe and Figma will transform how people create and work, spur innovation on the web, improve product design, and uplift communities of creators, designers, and developers throughout the world. The combined business will have the capacity to create major value for clients, investors, and the industry, in addition to a sizable and rapidly expanding market potential.
Key Features of Acquisition
The most expensive acquisition this century has caught the attention of a lot of companies and regulatory authorities across the world. The key features of the deal are as follows:
- Reimagining the Future of Creativity and Productivity: The designing giant Adobe and Figma coming together will unlock new potential for creativity and productivity as both of the companies create tools which are widely used; hence, they understand the customer’s requirements and expectations, thus making a path for creativity and productivity in term of new services and applications.
- Accelerating Creativity on the Web: Adobe's Creative Cloud technologies will be delivered online more quickly thanks to Figma's web-based, multi-player features, which will increase productivity and accessibility to the creative process for more people. The current difficulty facing creators is producing an ever-increasing amount of material while working closely with an ever-increasing number of stakeholders. With its widespread use, the web is now a tool that facilitates collaborative creation in teams.
- Advancing Product Design: All parties involved in the product design process, including designers, product managers, and developers, will gain from the integration of Adobe's robust imaging, photography, illustration, video, 3D, and font technologies into the Figma platform. Because digital applications are integral to both our personal and professional lives, the product design sector is experiencing rapid expansion.
- Inspiring and empowering the designer and developer community: The company's ongoing innovation has been fueled by the dynamic creative community at Adobe. With its vast and expanding ecosystem, Figma boasts a fervent community that creates and shares everything from templates to plug-ins to lessons. By uniting the communities of Figma and Adobe, designers and developers will be able to harness the potential of collaborative design in the future. By 2025, Figma's addressable market will reach a total of $16.5 billion. With best-in-class net dollar retention of more than 150 percent, the company is predicted to add around $200 million in net new ARR this year, topping $400 million in total ARR by the end of 2022. Figma has established a productive, rapidly expanding company with operating cash flows that are positive and gross margins of over 90%.
Conclusion
The acquisition of the decade is going to be under heavy scrutiny and checks under various laws in different countries and is expected to be given the green light soon, this merger and acquisition case study will act as a precedent for such high-value acquisitions. Nearly 10 years ago, we saw the last biggest acquisition, where Meta acquired WhatsApp for $13 Bn. As the world of tech moves forward, we will be witnessing more of such M&As in the future, but in such moments, we should be cautious about how our data is handled and transferred by the other company, always make sure you keep a check on your digital rights and responsibilities, because ultimately we are the consumers of the cyberspace.
References
- https://news.adobe.com/news/news-details/2022/Adobe-to-Acquire-Figma/default.aspx
- https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/26/regulator_delays_adobes_20bn_buy/
- https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/adobes-deal-acquire-figma-under-threat-eu-regulators-ft-2023-06-20/'
Introduction
Google India announced sachet loans on the Google Pay application to help small businesses in the country. Google India said that merchants in India often need smaller loans, hence, the tech giant launched sachet loans on the Gpay application. The company will provide loans to small businesses, which can be repaid in easier repayment instalments. To provide the load services, Google Pay has partnered with DMI Finance. This move comes at the Google for India, 2023, the flagship event to launch the Indian interventions planned by the big tech.
What is a Sachet Loan?
The loan system is the primary backbone of the global banking system. Since we have seen a massive transition towards the digital mode of transactions and banking operations, many online platforms have emerged. With the advent of QR codes, the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) has been rampantly used by Indians for making small or petty payments. Seeing this, Sachet loans made an advent as well, Sachet loans are essentially small-ticket loans ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 1 lakh, with repayment tenures between 7 days and 12 months. This nano-credit addresses immediate financial needs and is designed for swift approval and disbursement. Satchel loans are one of the most sought-after loan forms in the Western world. The ease of accessibility and easy repayment options have made it a successful form of money lending, which in turn has sparked the interest of the tech giant Google to execute similar operations in India.
Google Pay
Pertaining to the fact that UPI payments are the most preferred form of online payment, google came out with GPay in 2013 and now enjoys a user base of 67 million Indians. Google Pay has a 36.10% mobile application market share in India, and 26% of the UPI payments made have been through Google Pay. Google Pay adoption for in-store payments in India was higher in 2023 than it was in early 2019, signalling a growing use among consumers. The numbers shown here refer to the share of respondents who indicated they used Google Pay in the last 12 months, either for POS transactions with a mobile device in stores and restaurants or for online shopping. Eight out of 10 respondents from India indicated they had used Google Pay in a POS setting between April 2022 and March 2023, with an additional seven out of 10 saying they used Google Pay during this same time for online payments.
Pertaining to the Indian spectrum, the following aspects should be kept into consideration:
- PhonePe, Google Pay and Paytm accounted for nearly 96% of all UPI transactions by value in March
- PhonePe remained the top UPI app, processing 407.63 Cr transactions worth INR 7.07 Lakh Cr
- While Google Pay and Paytm retained second and third positions, respectively, Amazon Pay pushed CRED to the fifth spot in terms of the number of transactions
- Walmart-owned PhonePe, Google Pay and Paytm continued their dominance in India’s UPI payments space, together processing 94% of payments in March 2023.
- According to data from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the top three apps accounted for nearly 96% of all UPI transactions by value. This translates to about 841.91 Cr transactions worth INR 13.44 Lakh Cr between the three apps.
Conclusion
The big tech giant Google.org has been fundamental in creating and provisioning best-in-class services which are easily accessible to all the netizens. Satchel loans are the new services introduced by the platform and the widespread access of Gpay will go a long way in providing financial services and ease to the deprived and needy lot of the Indian population. This transition can also be seen by other payment portals like Paypal and Paytm, which clearly shows India's massive potential in leading the world of online banking and UPI transactions. As per stats, 40% of global online banking transactions take place in India. These aspects, coupled with the cores of Digital India and Make in India, clearly show how India is the global destination for investment in the current era.
References
- https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/google-enters-retail-loan-business-in-india-11697697999246.html
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/1389649/google-pay-adoption-in-india/#:~:text=Eight%20out%20of%2010%20respondents,same%20time%20for%20online%20payments
- https://playtoday.co/blog/stats/google-pay-statistics/#:~:text=67%20million%20active%20users%20of%20Google%20Pay%20are%20in%20India.&text=Google%20Pay%20users%20in%20India,in%2Dstore%20and%20online%20purchases.
- https://inc42.com/buzz/phonepe-google-pay-paytm-process-94-of-upi-transactions-march-2023/
