Presentation Material
AI Generated Summary
The talk focused on the protection of India’s Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) as defined under Section 70 of the IT Act, encompassing systems whose incapacitation could severely impact national security, the economy, or public safety. The National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) serves as the nodal body responsible for identifying CII entities—currently around 100 organizations across seven sectors including banking, telecom, and power—and strengthening their security.
Key findings highlighted a sophisticated and escalating threat landscape characterized by advanced persistent threats (APTs), ransomware, and supply chain attacks, with attack surfaces expanding due to digitization and emerging technologies like AI. NCIIPC’s contributions were noted as valuable, particularly its highly relevant threat intelligence feeds, supplementary log monitoring for notified entities, and unique visibility into telecom supply chain risks. However, significant gaps were identified: a shortage of qualified security auditors leading to compliance-focused rather than practical security assessments, outdated security guidelines that lag behind technologies like cloud and SaaS, and a narrow scope of CII protection that excludes critical supplier ecosystems and the IT development sector.
Practical implications stressed the necessity for NCIIPC to drive the creation of national security standards for emerging technologies, expand its protective mandate to include interconnected suppliers, and foster real-time, cross-sector threat intelligence sharing. The discussion underscored that effective CII protection requires moving beyond checkbox compliance toward persistent, practical security testing and addressing the deficit of skilled cybersecurity professionals and auditors to establish robust baseline security across all critical entities. Collaboration, rather than competition, among public and private sector entities was emphasized as essential.