VIJAYAWADA: With an aim to build stronger cybersecurity capabilities, the IT department is in the process of finalising the AP Cybersecurity Framework (APCSF), which will guide all the cybersecurity activities in the State and protect individual privacy. The APCSF, modelled after USA’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Framework For Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity, will help all the government departments and private sector firms manage and respond to evolving cybersecurity risks.
While the framework will come into effect once it gets the Cabinet approval, the officials are planning to launch the Andhra Pradesh Computer Response Team (APCRT) and call centre operations in the next week. All the cybersecurity initiatives of the State - APCRT, which is being developed along the lines of Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (ICERT), the Cybersecurity Call Centre and other cybersecurity capacity building programmes - will be governed by the said framework.
Even though the State IT department has been adopting some of the best international practices to address the cybersecurity issues, ‘data leaks’ and private data availability continue to plague it due to the varied cyber practices of different departments. To address this, the IT department has prepared a draft framework.
“The Andhra Pradesh Cybersecurity Framework, 2018, will provide private and government sector organisations with a structure for assessing and improving their ability to prepare for, prevent, detect, respond to, and recover from various cyber incidents. The draft has been prepared. We are in consultation with industry experts, who suggested upgrades to it. It will be ready in two-three weeks,” managing director of APTS Ltd, V Prem Chand, told TNIE. The APTS Ltd is the nodal agency for the implementation of the framework.