AIIMS cyber-attack led to new SOP on cyber data breaches.

Former cybersecurity chief Lt Gen Raesh Pant said the ransomware attack on AIIMS prompted the government to formulate a national cybersecurity response framework (NCRF). “It was realised that critical sectors need to have a uniform framework to respond to cybersecurity,” said Pant. “So, the NCRF was conceptualised. It will be put in the public domain for critical infrastructure, such as those in the power and health sectors to implement.”

The framework outlines an architecture of a cyber defence system, the former NCRF chief said, and specifies trusted companies and supply chain mechanisms. According to Pant, the AIIMS attack exposed loopholes in the cyber defence systems and several lessons have been drawn from it to better prepare the critical information infrastructure and address vulnerabilities. “The manner in which the network was architected, was not done by professionals but by a team of doctors. There were too many loopholes in the network, and it was easy to get into the network,” he said. “A lot of lessons have come out from the incident from a government point of view, and these will, hopefully be implemented.”

Pant also stressed on the need for inter-ministerial cooperation and setting up of a nodal ministry to address cybersecurity threats as the cybersecurity is continuously changing. “According to the business allocation rules, no ministry is solely dedicated to addressing such incidents. The concept of peace has changed today, there is no peace in cyber space,” he said, adding that the government’s cybersecurity strategy was in the advance stages. The cybersecurity strategy of the government, which has been in the works since 2020, proposes several mitigation measures to combat data breaches. The strategy was drawn up during Pant’s tenure as cybersecurity coordinator.

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Source: Internet