The new regulator, which will be based in the communications ministry and headed by the telecom secretary, will centralize the government’s work in cybersecurity and telecom, work currently being carried out by a number of overlapping ministries and agencies, according to a report by the Economic Times.
The cybersecurity board will have representatives from the defense and home ministries, the intelligence agencies, IT department, the national security advisor, and the National Technical Research Organisation, among others, according to the report.
The new board will suggest measures to address national network security issues as well as establish targets for various government agencies to meet in improving cybersecurity.
The fragmentation of responsibilities in the cybersecurity area has caused delays in decision making on cybersecurity measures. Documents obtained by the Economic Times cited problems with the centralized monitoring system and the secured network, which are national efforts to improve cybersecurity.
The secured network project will connect nearly 5,000 government departments throughout the country, but will not have any points of interconnection with private operators. All equipment for this network is being sourced from state-owned Centre for Development of Telematics.