'India, ASEAN need to strengthen cyber security cooperation'

India and ASEAN need to strengthen cooperation in the field of cyber security because the challenge posed by malicious actors in the cyber space is border less and the newest arena for contestation between individuals, entities and even states, a senior official said on Monday.

Secretary (East) MEA Vijay Thakur Singh, while speaking at the inaugural session of India-ASEAN Track 1.5 Dialogue on Cyber Issues here, said nation-states are working towards but are yet to unify policy measures adequately to create a robust data governance regime that manages the balancing act of dealing with both privacy and security concerns.

"There are efforts, but these are disaggregated at the global level. These include the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025, which calls to develop an ASEAN Framework on Digital Data Governance, as a key priority," she said.

"We need to cooperate, quite simply, because the challenge posed by malicious actors in cyber space is border-less. It is, in fact, today the newest arena for contestation between individuals, entities and even states," Singh said.

No country is today immune from cyber attacks which not only cause loss of data - including sensitive state and personal information - they also compel states to invest heavily in protection and counter-measures, she said.

"It is no surprise, therefore, that the World Economic Forum identified cyber-security as the third most-feared threat after extreme weather events and natural disasters," she noted.

"In this context, a special word must be said about securing our youth from cyber security threats, especially as children today are digital natives," Singh said.

Recognizing the convergence of risks and technologies in this regard, India will fund a 'Child Online Risks Awareness Campaign' through the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications of Cambodia under a Quick Impact Project in 2020, she said.

"We would be happy to offer similar projects to other ASEAN partners as well," Singh said.