IETE Conducts Mid-term Symposium on Digital Forensics and Information security

The Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers (IETE) celebrated the World Telecommunication and Information Society day, on the theme "Connect 2030: ICTs for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)" set by International Telecom Union (ITU), highlighting the ICT advances for transition to smart and sustainable development. The program was conducted by Dr. Ajay Thakare, Convener & Chairman Technical Programs and Publicity Committee (TPPC), IETE.

Mid Term Symposium (MTS) is a flagship program of IETE. This year the theme chosen was on "Digital Forensics and Information security" said Dr. Thakare. Opening remarks on MTS was given by Mr. Kulchandra Singh, Chairman, IETE Imphal Centre and concluding remarks came from Mr. Ajay Kumar, Zonal Mentor, East, IETE.

"On this occasion of World Telecommunications Day & Information Society Day and Mid Term Symposium of IETE, I would like to share the strategic step IETE has taken by launching its dream project "Centre of Excellence on Cyber Security and Critical infrastructure security" last week. IETE is on transformation path in digital era to serve the society," said Dr. J. W. Bakal, President, IETE. The program was presided over by Dr. Bakal.

Addressing the online participants, Dr. Manpreet Singh Manna spoke about the transformation which is taking place. "It is a fact that this is the time for us to adopt the transformation from chalk-board teachers to digitally enabled teachers. This is the path towards building a Nation for new tomorrow," said Dr. Manna.

During the session, on the issue of trained manpower, Professor Dr. Raghunath K. Shevagoakar, Vice-Chancellor, Bennett University & Ex. Director IIT Delhi said that the educational institutions will have to take the responsibility for developing the resources. "It will have to be University or any other Institution to develop manpower with right thinking and skills. If handled right, this will enable us to mould the future of this nation with high ethical values with assured sustainability," said Prof. Dr. Shevagoakar. According to him, ICT is going to play a very important role in achieving the high standards of professionalism in this sector.

"On our part, we have been driving digital transformation and redefining telecommunications on the back of our comprehensive portfolio of network equipment, software, services and licensing opportunities," said Mr. Samar Mittal, Vice President & Market Head, NSW, India, Nokia. He apprised the participants on the developments in the area of Internet of Things (IoT) Security and Automation and discussed various use cases.

During the 'MTS' session, Mr. Prasad Patibandla, Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst touched upon digital forensics trends, incident handling procedures on cyber-attacks and various forensic and investigation tolls and procedures for Law Enforcement Agencies.

According to Dr. Anup Ghirdhar, CEO, Sedulity Groups and Cyber Crime Investigator, there is an increase of over 90 per cent in internet traffic during COVID-19 lockdown period. "This has thrown open many challenges for experts," he added.

"Cyber security issues like hacking, malware attacks, corruption of data and software due to computer viruses, breaking of secured passwords, taking control of computers from remote locations have also grown in tandem and has become a key area of concern. These too need to be addressed effectively," added Dr. Babu Lal, Chairman Redefine Dimensions Convergence Pvt. Ltd. & former Executive Director, BHEL. He also emphasized that Cyber Security in the 21st Century is a Matter of Global Coordinated Response.

However, the most challenging issue during this period is cyber related crime. "To check the various unwanted cyber related activities. It has become mandatory that the various related aspects of cyber laws need to be propagated across the public domain," said Dr. Pawan Duggal, Advocate, Supreme Court & Expert on Cyber Law.

Digital currency like Bitcoin and Blockchain security are a matter of concern and hence more research is required in future said Mr. Anupam Tiwari, Joint Director (Computers & Communication), Government of India.

About IETE

Founded in 1953, the Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers (IETE) is a leading professional society devoted to the advancement of Science & Technology in Electronics, Telecommunications, Information Technology, Computer Science and other related disciplines. IETE 65 Centresspread all over India including one at Perth (Australia) and Kathmandu (Nepal) respectively.

To keep pace with technological development and achieve the mission of advancing the profession, it organizes conferences, conventions, symposia, seminars, workshops, publications and brainstorming sessions for continued knowledge upgradation of its members.

IETE Inaugurates Centre of Excellence for Cyber Security

The Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers (IETE) inaugurated Centre of Excellence for Cyber Security. During the occasion, Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Dr. Rajesh Pant, National Cyber Security Coordinator (NCSC), PMO, Government of India, was the chief guest at the inaugural function.

While speaking at the inauguration of the 'Centre of Excellence: Cyber Security and Critical Infrastructure Security', Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Dr. Rajesh Pant said, "Cyber Security has become very important during COVID-19. We are passing through a very serious situation at the moment. This timely step by 'The Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers' (IETE) India will have full support from my Department."

Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Dr. Rajesh Pant in his address advised IETE to focus around Hardware Security and align its efforts with Mission of Government of India like 'National Quantum Mission'.

Setting up of the 'Centre of Excellence: Cyber Security and Critical Infrastructure Security', is part of the initiative of IETE's future growth strategy.

While conveying his sincere gratitude to the Chief Guest Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Dr. Pant for his valuable advice on bringing a focus to specific area of Cyber Security, particularly hardware security, Dr. J.W. Bakal, president, IETE shared a broad outline of the CoE. "IETE's focus is to support Government of India's effort in creating a strong ecosystem for Cyber Security in the areas of IoT, Smart City, Industry 4.0 and Hardware Security," said Dr. Bakal. He also emphasized that the connected ecosystem covers smart factories, smart grid and smart supply chain therefore issues of data security and privacy are of great importance.

Dr. N. Sarat Chandra Babu, Executive Director, Society for Electronic Transactions and Security (SETS) Chennai, in this keynote address gave an overview of current and emerging trends in Cyber Security. In addition to industry-academia association; industry led applied research, he emphasized on collaboration amongst R&D organizations to arrive at a holistic indigenous solution in cyberspace. "We have to address the growing challenges of cyber threats by training a large pool of skilled manpower. For this, an appropriate training infrastructure as to be in place. CoE by IETE is a step in this direction," said Dr. Sarat Babu. According to him there is a need for preparedness of the nation in terms of Cyber Security in Quantum Era by focusing on Post Quantum Cryptography and Quantum Key Distribution Technologies.

On this occasion, a tech-webinar was also organized on Cyber Attacks & Mitigation Strategy and Vulnerability & Penetration Testing. Dr. T.R. Reshmi and S. Karthikeyan, Scientists, SETS Chennai delivered a holistic perspective on the above important topics. This session was followed by an interactive Q&A session.

Dr. Shiv Kumar, Co-Chair, Skill Development and Industrial Committee, IETE thanked IETE Governing Council for the support and guidance on CoE. He also thanked Electronic Sector Skill Council (ESSCI), Telecom Sector Skill Sector Council (TSSC), Information Security Education and Awareness (ISEA), Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) for extending their active support and he also thanked the participants.

During their address, Dr. Bakal and Dr. Sarat Babu applauded the initiative taken by Dr. Kumar for the efforts in launching the CoE.

About IETE

Founded in 1953, the Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers (IETE) is a leading professional society devoted to the advancement of Science & Technology in Electronics, Telecommunications, Information Technology, Computer Science and other related disciplines. IETE 65 Centres spread all over India including one at Perth (Australia) and Kathmandu (Nepal) respectively.

To keep pace with technological development and achieve the mission of advancing the profession, it organizes conferences, conventions, symposia, seminars, workshops, publications and brain storming sessions for continued knowledge upgradation of its members.

About SETS

Society for Electronic Transactions and Security (SETS) is an initiative of the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) to the Government of India. An idea to form a specialized organization, in the area of information security was conceived of by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and implemented by Dr. R. Chidambaram through the Office of the PSA.

It was set up for the purpose of nucleating, sensitizing and developing provable security designs that can protect the information wealth of the country and that can be used in applications of Information Security products and services.