FREE CYBER SPACE OF DARK FORCES: PM
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the nation should ensure that the digital space does not become a playground for dark forces or terrorism and radicalisation. “The quest for an open and accessible internet often leads to vulnerability .... We need to ensure that vulnerable sections of our society do not fall prey to the evil designs of cyber criminals...,” he said at the Global Conference on Cyber Space.
NEWDELHI:Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that the nation should ensure that the digital space does not become a playground for dark forces or terrorism and radicalisation.
“The quest for an open and accessible internet often leads to vulnerability... We need to ensure that vulnerable sections of our society do not fall prey to the evil designs of cyber criminals. Alertness towards cyber-security concerns, should become a way of life,” the Prime Minister said in his inaugural address at the fifth edition of Global Conference on Cyber Space (GCCS) here on Thursday.
He asked the global investor community to become part of the ‘unfolding story of Indian startups’. “Our startups today are looking to provide solutions to common everyday problems, and improving the lives of people. I am confident that the global investor community will recognise the immense potential waiting to be tapped from India’s startup pool. I invite you to invest in this space,” said Modi.
“The term “hacking” may have acquired an exciting, even if dubious overtone. We need to ensure that cyber protection becomes an attractive and viable career option ...”
“Information sharing and coordination among security agencies is essential to counter the ever-changing threat landscape .... Surely, we can walk the fine balance between privacy and openness on one hand, and national security on the other. Together, we can overcome the differences between global and open systems on one hand, and nation-specific legal requirements on the other.”
The PM said his government has used the trinity of Jan Dhan bank accounts, mobile phones and biometric identification number Aadhaar to plug leakages of nearly $10 billion so far.
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in his address to the inaugural ceremony said, “My government is determined to ensure a fair internet regime,” said that Sri Lankan PM, adding that he was also against forced or state-orderd shutdown of internet.
Addressing the conference, minister of information technology Ravi Shankar Prasad said the right of citizens to access internet is ‘non-negotiable’.
Prasad said the government didn’t allow Facebook’s Free Basics programme because it offered access to select Internet services.