Encourage academic fraternity to work on cybersecurity awareness measures: UGC

HEls may further encourage, promote and facilitate the academic fraternity to work on cybersecurity start-ups and conduct hackathons.

The University Grants Commission has asked all the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and varsities to promote and encourage the academic fraternity to work on cybersecurity awareness and should include the topic in the curriculum. The commission has also noted that the government is in the process of formulating a National Cyber Security Strategy document but until then the cybersecurity awareness should begin at the school level itself. 

“Cyberspace is a complex environment consisting of interactions between people, software and services, supported by Information and Communication Technology (ICT) devices and networks. It is vulnerable to a wide variety of incidents, whether intentional or accidental, manmade or natural. Therefore, cybersecurity awareness has become a prime concern in today's networked world,” UGC secretary Rajnish Jain said in a letter to vice-chancellors.

“The government is in process of formulating National Cyber Security Strategy document. In the meantime, it has been decided that cybersecurity awareness should start at school level where syllabus can start with cyber safety measures and progressively include offensive and defensive aspects at IIT and higher education level,” he added.

While directing the HEIs to take appropriate action on the implementation of the cybersecurity awareness, the Commission said, “HEls may further encourage, promote and facilitate the academic fraternity to work on cybersecurity start-ups and conduct of hackathons”.

As per the report released by the United Nations, millions of children around the world are at an increased risk of online sexual exploitation, violence and cyber bullying as they spend more time on virtual platforms due to the closing of schools amid COVID-19 lockdown. More than 1.5 billion children and young people have been affected by the closing of schools worldwide and many are online now taking classes and socialising, the UN's children's agency UNICEF said. 

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