IT hardware vendors reject govt's step to curb cyberthreat

In a bid to increase cybersecurity awareness, government of India has proposed and asked computer hardware vendors sold in the country to include a cybersecurity brochure. However, this step is very timely, but at the same IT vendors are concerned it could give rise to logistical issues.

Kapil Sibal, India's communications and IT minister, took this move after a spate of cyberattacks on government web sites and the increasing concern among authorities to prepare against emerging cyberthreats. He had put forth a proposal to have every desktop computer, mobile phone, modem or USB stick to come pre-packaged with the "Cybersecurity Awareness Brochure".

Indian government's joint working group set up by the National Security Council Secretariat has decided to make it mandatory on the part of hardware sellers to provide cyber security awareness brochures while sale of such hardware.

Cyber security awareness in India is still at a lower level within the users including software and hardware manufacturers, vendors, sellers, redistributors, etc. Cyber warfare against India, cyber terrorism, cyber intelligence failure data security, critical infrastructure protection, cyber security laws etc must be handled by India on an urgent and priority basis.

While commenting on this proposal,Saurabh Grover , director , monitor business, AOC India, he said,"Being a display (Monitor) manufacturer, it is difficult for us to provide these brochures in our packages. Since we are selling multiple products, manufactured from multiple locations worldwide and these products are exported to other parts of the world from the same factories as well. It will be time taking, tedious and costly task for us to include such a brochure in every unit while packaging."

He also added, "we always respect government laws and would appreciate, but in this case we would request government to look out for different possible efforts to create cyber security awareness. But, if government still feels this is the best way, we would abide by the decision."

As per some of the hardware vendors, they want government should also focus on some promotional activities through various mediums of media to get people aware of the cyber security threats in India. They can extract data base from banks and telecom companies and can send mailers to upper middle class and middle class customers for awareness.

Cyber law implementations should be strengthened and Cyber Cafes, Internet providers should be strict enough to allow internet access to the users.

Reacting to governemnt proposal,S Rajendran, chief marketing officer, Acer India said, "We do welcome the decision of the government to educate and alert a vast segment of audiences on the importance of cyber security given today instances of mobile phones too getting virus attacks. However, the logistics will be heavily burdened due to this move. While most of the products are directly imported from the international market, it would be extremely unlikely for companies to disrupt the packaging in India. Considering the complex supply chain that exists in the environment, it would be difficult for companies to educate their global suppliers to insert this piece of information inside the box. Acting upon this proposal for us will surely mean investing more time, incurring higher expenditure and time lag in go-to-market."

It is also a well known fact that consumers are disinterested and avoid reading the existing pamphlets that is in the box such as manuals,warranty and other literature with regards to the product. We believe incorporating an additional booklet would be a wasted investment as consumers today go to the web for all and any information required.To tackle the increasing volume of online threats, there could be multiple alternatives to this effect, such as placing a sticker with cyber security guidelines on the box.Incorporating the information in the invoice and ensuring visibility at the point of sales through pamphlets and standees could be other mechanisms through which we can streamline the communication and ensure maximum effectiveness," Rajendran suggested.

In the view of Kailash Katkar, CEO, Quickheal, a security company added, "This is a welcome move by the Government, more so since it includes even the smallest of hardware. Cyber security awareness is the need of the hour. However, typical tendency of Indians or any consumer is not to read the literature accompanying the product unless it's a troubleshoot issue addressed in the manual.We would suggest that if such cyber safety literature is included then it should be highly graphical and more comprehensible. In addition, the Government should be more proactive in promoting this move. There should be a lot of awareness generation with the use of traditional and new media. If you see it at a grassroots level, it should be incorporated in the academic curriculum. That way this effort would generate the awareness level it seeks to and reach out to the masses."