'Government must provide incentives, tax breaks to curb cyber crimes'

New Delhi: To check cyber crimes, government and regulators must design policies entailing incentives and tax breaks to encourage private sector participation in curbing the menace, a report has suggested.

Besides, the government must increase budget for cyber security related initiatives such as capacity building, training of the workforce, implementing awareness programmes, and promoting research and development, it said.

"The government and regulators should develop comprehensive cyber security policies and frameworks from the perspective of incentives, tax breaks and technological development," the Assocham-PwC report said.

It further said the policies (made) should be such that they must encourage private sector participation in public sector research and promote the commercialisation of research and development and intellectual property.

In order to promote global cyber security cooperation, India must ensure active collaboration with other countries and global cyber security agencies through international treaties, bilateral agreements and MoUs to understand the latest threats and take proactive security measures, it added.

"A framework needs to be established to effectively curb cyber incidents and reduce response time by promoting seamless sharing of information between state intelligence agencies, central intelligence agency, and various departments.

"It is important that the government, industry and security vendors come together on a common platform to formulate and implement policies and procedures for cyber security as cyber threats are among the most urgent dangers to India's economic and national security," the report suggested.

It also recommended that government and regulators should look at developing sector-specific policies and frameworks tailored to meet the requirements of a particular sector in order to strengthen cyber security in that domain and ensure compliance with defined security standards.

"The government should allocate adequate budget for cyber security related initiatives such as capacity building, training of the workforce, implementing awareness programmes, and promoting research and development," the report said.

It also suggested that the industry needs to expand efforts to attract and retain qualified cyber professionals.

"Government should look at developing comprehensive and mature security policies to ensure that emerging technologies such as cloud and Smart Cities are protected from cyber threats and risks," it pointed out.

There is need for law enforcement agencies' personnel to be trained in requisite cyber skills to ensure that digital evidence is secured efficiently and properly used in criminal proceedings, the report said.