The Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said, on Thursday, that digitisation across sectors, including banking, has necessitated a sharper focus on cybersecurity. He urged start-ups, industry and academia to address rising challenges on a bigger scale to position India as a market leader in cyber safety.

Vaishnaw was speaking at a virtual event to felicitate winners of the Cyber Security Grand Challenge, which was a contest focused on strengthening the cybersecurity capabilities of the country. Addressing the viewers, he said, "The vulnerabilities have grown multifold in the new world of increasingly-connected systems, and require innovators and cybersecurity experts to be a step ahead of those who seek to compromise digital systems. Start-ups, working in the area of cybersecurity, should come up with innovative ideas to address such complex challenges."  

The Minister added, "In such a world, if we are not able to care for the security of every transaction, then the trust, which is the bedrock of the entire financial system, will be eroded." Another speaker at the event was Minister of State Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar. He said that the safety and trust of the internet are as important as connectivity and access. "Cybersecurity drives the expansion of the digital economy and creates investment opportunities, but it is also key to addressing strategic capabilities," Chandrasekhar said. 

He added that the capabilities in cybersecurity are important and will require collaboration between industry and government. "And therefore, these new capabilities that India wants and the internet requires to keep it safe and trusted, will come from start-ups," he said.