In response to the increasing frequency of cyber threat incidents, the nation must continuously enhance its cybersecurity measures to tackle new vulnerabilities and the ever-changing threat landscape, according to the government. State-sponsored hacking threats are escalating globally, including in India.
Professor Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the government, emphasized the need to scale up successful initiatives such as hardware security testing and post-quantum cryptography. Speaking at the Foundation Day of the Society for Electronic Transactions and Security (SETS) in Chennai, Sood urged SETS to deepen its collaboration with industry, R&D labs, and academia to ensure the nation’s computing and communication infrastructure is quantum-safe. On this occasion, he also inaugurated the Quantum Security Research Lab.
Established in 2002 by former President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, SETS is a cybersecurity R&D organization focusing on key areas like cybersecurity, cryptology, hardware security, quantum security, and network security. Dr. Parvinder Maini, Scientific Secretary, highlighted the significance of these advancements for SETS to effectively address cybersecurity challenges and develop robust solutions. She also noted SETS’s involvement in cutting-edge projects, including AI for cybersecurity under the National Supercomputing Mission, and emphasized the importance of standards-based development for international collaborations in fields such as quantum communication and 6G.
Dr. Sanjay Bahl, Director General of the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), discussed the evolving cybersecurity concerns related to AI, the proliferation of the Internet of Things (IoT), and drones. He stressed that SETS should devise a roadmap to address these challenges and create innovative solutions.
