Latest news with #MinistryofElectronics
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
Fully home-grown tech must for cybersecurity, cannot depend on other sources: IT Secy
India cannot depend on external solutions for cybersecurity , and it must have fully home-grown technology in this space, a senior government official said on Friday. Speaking after releasing a whitepaper on Quantum Cyber Readiness by CERT-In and cybersecurity firm SISA, Electronics and IT Secretary S Krishnan expressed concern on the race to develop quantum computers globally, which is perceived as capable of breaking any encryption that exists at present. "There has to be greater cybersecurity awareness. There has to be greater awareness of making sure that we pay adequate attention to the space so that capacity is developed in the country, because this is one space where we cannot depend on anybody else. This is one area where we must have fully homegrown solutions, both hardware and software," Krishnan said. He said that cybersecurity is not like any other technology space where solutions from any other place can be used. According to the paper on Quantum Cyber Readiness, any data requiring protection beyond 2030 should be considered at immediate risk. "Nation-states and sophisticated threat actors are likely already harvesting and storing encrypted data, anticipating future quantum decryption capabilities," the report said. Executive Order issued by the US on January 16, 2025, formally ordered governmental departments to start post-quantum cryptography transitions within specified timeframes (60-270 days). Krishnan said there is serious work required to be done in the space of quantum and cryptography. "The basic issue is that even if you have one computer, which is a quantum computer, which is capable of breaking cryptography, then everybody else is at risk," he said. Krishnan said that even before starting the use of quantum computers, there is a need for cryptographic standards which are up to the mark for data protection. "So, even in a classical computer, you must have work being done on post-quantum cryptography. Everyone who uses computers needs to be aware of this, and needs to have a cryptographic tool, which can protect their communication, data and protect everything else from a post-quantum or quantum world threat," Krishnan said. In March, the government approved the National Quantum Mission (NQM) with an outlay of around Rs 6,000 crore, spread over 8 years. Krishnan said that out of around Rs 1,000 crore that has to be spent from the Ministry of Electronics on the IT side, around Rs 513 crore has already been allocated for various projects on quantum technology. The report said organisations must understand that the quantum threat clock started ticking the moment sensitive data was first transmitted or stored using quantum-vulnerable encryption. "The threat is immediate for any information that must remain confidential beyond the estimated arrival of cryptographically relevant quantum computers," the report said.
The Star
4 days ago
- Business
- The Star
X blasts India 'censorship' order on thousands of accounts
X said it was 'exploring all legal options available' but added that it was 'restricted by Indian law in its ability to bring legal challenges'. — Reuters NEW DELHI: Social media platform X said Tuesday it was "deeply concerned" after the Indian government ordered it last week to block more than 2,000 accounts, including two belonging to the Reuters news agency. Many of the blocked accounts were restored within hours, and New Delhi denied any role in the takedown. India, the world's biggest democracy, regularly ranks among the top five countries for the number of requests made by a government to remove social media content. "On July 3, 2025, the Indian government ordered X to block 2,355 accounts in India, including international news outlets like @Reuters and @ReutersWorld," X's Global Government Affairs team said in a statement shared on the platform. The statement added that India's Ministry of Electronics had "demanded immediate action – within one hour – without providing justification, and required the accounts to remain blocked" until further notice. An Indian ministry spokesperson denied such an order was issued, saying there was "no intention to block any prominent international news channel". "The moment Reuters and Reuters World were blocked on X platform in India, immediately the government wrote to 'X' to unblock them," the spokesperson told news agency ANI. The accounts were taken offline late on Saturday, but had resumed operating by Sunday. "Non-compliance risked criminal liability," said X, the platform formerly known as Twitter and owned by the world's richest person Elon Musk. "After public outcry, the government requested X to unblock @Reuters and @ReutersWorld," it added. "We are deeply concerned about ongoing press censorship in India due to these blocking orders." Rights groups say freedom of expression and press freedom have been under threat in India since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014. New Delhi regularly imposes blanket Internet shutdowns during periods of unrest. In April, India launched a sweeping crackdown on social media, banning more than a dozen Pakistani YouTube channels for allegedly spreading "provocative" content following an attack in Kashmir. Many of those have been restored. New Delhi has also imposed intermittent Internet outages in the northeastern state of Manipur since 2023 in the wake of ethnic violence. New Delhi has justified Internet and social media bans as ways to curb disinformation in a country where hundreds of millions of people have access to some of the cheapest mobile Internet rates in the world. X said it was "exploring all legal options available" but added that it was "restricted by Indian law in its ability to bring legal challenges". "We urge affected users to pursue legal remedies through the courts," it added. – AFP
Business Recorder
5 days ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
X blasts India ‘censorship' order on thousands of accounts
NEW DELHI: Social media platform X said Tuesday it was 'deeply concerned' after the Indian government ordered it last week to block 2,355 accounts, including two Reuters news agency accounts. Many of the blocked accounts were restored hours later, with New Delhi specifically denying its role in the takedown. India, the world's biggest democracy, regularly ranks among the top five countries for the number of requests made by a government to remove social media content. 'On July 3, 2025, the Indian government ordered X to block 2,355 accounts in India, including international news outlets like @Reuters and @ReutersWorld,' X's Global Government Affairs team said in a statement, shared on its platform. It said that India's Ministry of Electronics 'demanded immediate action — within one hour — without providing justification, and required the accounts to remain blocked' until further notice. The accounts were taken offline late on Saturday, but had resumed operations by Sunday. 'Non-compliance risked criminal liability,' said X, the platform owned by Tesla boss Elon Musk and formerly known as Twitter. 'After public outcry, the government requested X to unblock @Reuters and @ReutersWorld,' it added. 'We are deeply concerned about ongoing press censorship in India due to these blocking orders.' Rights groups say freedom of expression and free press is under threat in India since Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014. New Delhi has regularly imposed blanket internet shutdowns during periods of unrest. India in April launched a sweeping crackdown on social media, banning more than a dozen Pakistani YouTube channels for allegedly spreading 'provocative' content following an attack in Kashmir. Many of those of have been restored. New Delhi has also imposed intermittent internet outages in the northeastern state of Manipur since 2023 in the wake of ethnic violence.
The Sun
5 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
X blasts India ‘censorship' order on thousands of accounts
NEW DELHI: Social media platform X said Tuesday it was 'deeply concerned' after the Indian government ordered it last week to block 2,355 accounts, including two Reuters news agency accounts. Many of the blocked accounts were restored hours later, with New Delhi specifically denying its role in the takedown. India, the world's biggest democracy, regularly ranks among the top five countries for the number of requests made by a government to remove social media content. 'On July 3, 2025, the Indian government ordered X to block 2,355 accounts in India, including international news outlets like @Reuters and @ReutersWorld,' X's Global Government Affairs team said in a statement, shared on its platform. It said that India's Ministry of Electronics 'demanded immediate action -- within one hour -- without providing justification, and required the accounts to remain blocked' until further notice. The accounts were taken offline late on Saturday, but had resumed operations by Sunday. 'Non-compliance risked criminal liability,' said X, the platform owned by Tesla boss Elon Musk and formerly known as Twitter. 'After public outcry, the government requested X to unblock @Reuters and @ReutersWorld,' it added. 'We are deeply concerned about ongoing press censorship in India due to these blocking orders.' Rights groups say freedom of expression and free press is under threat in India since Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014. New Delhi has regularly imposed blanket internet shutdowns during periods of unrest. India in April launched a sweeping crackdown on social media, banning more than a dozen Pakistani YouTube channels for allegedly spreading 'provocative' content following an attack in Kashmir. Many of those of have been restored. New Delhi has also imposed intermittent internet outages in the northeastern state of Manipur since 2023 in the wake of ethnic violence. New Delhi has justified internet and social media bans as ways to curb disinformation in a country where hundreds of millions have access to some of the cheapest mobile internet rates in the world. X said its was 'exploring all legal options available' but added that it 'restricted by Indian law in its ability to bring legal challenges', it said. 'We urge affected users to pursue legal remedies through the courts,' it added. – AFP
New Indian Express
5 days ago
- Business
- New Indian Express
X blasts India 'censorship' order on thousands of accounts
NEW DELHI: Social media platform X said Tuesday it was "deeply concerned" after the Indian government ordered it last week to block 2,355 accounts, including two Reuters news agency accounts. Many of the blocked accounts were restored hours later, with New Delhi specifically denying its role in the takedown. India, the world's biggest democracy, regularly ranks among the top five countries for the number of requests made by a government to remove social media content. "On July 3, 2025, the Indian government ordered X to block 2,355 accounts in India, including international news outlets like @Reuters and @ReutersWorld," X's Global Government Affairs team said in a statement, shared on its platform. It said that India's Ministry of Electronics "demanded immediate action -- within one hour -- without providing justification, and required the accounts to remain blocked" until further notice.
