Internet Society inks pact with ISPAI to secure Internet infrastructure

The Internet Society (ISOC) Monday said it has partnered with Internet Service Providers Association of India (ISPAI) to undertake activities to promote security of network infrastructure in India to make the web safe for businesses and consumers alike.

The agreement signed today will see the two partners undertake initiatives and activities in India to promote 'Mutually Agreed Norms for Routing Security (MANRS)' -- a programme whose objective is to improve the resilience and security of the routing infrastructure.

"Cyber security is one of the top concerns for Internet users in the Asia Pacific region and unsecure routing is one of the most common reasons for malicious threats...With the explosive growth of the Internet in India and the region, it is imperative that we work towards building secure routing infrastructure by adopting MANRS," ISOC Regional Bureau Director (Asia Pacific) Rajnesh Singh told PTI.

He added that ISOC has similar partmerships with operators in Japan and the US, but this is the first time the organisation has partnered an industry association to reach out to a larger audience.

Both ISOC and ISPAI share a mutual vision of an open and global Internet that enables innovation and social opportunities.

"Routing security is vital to the future and stability of the Internet and MANRS provides simple but concrete steps for network operators that enable dramatically improved Internet security and reliability," Singh said.

According to India's Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-in), 50,362 cyber security incidents took place in India in 2016 compared to 49,455 in the previous year. These incidents included phishing, website intrusions and defacements, virus and denial of service attacks amongst others.

Rajesh Chharia, President of ISPAI, said the agreement is aimed at helping tackle the growing number of cyber security incidents in India.

"The number of Internet users in India is skyrocketing and it is expected to double by 2021. However, there are growing concerns over cyber security and data security and the recent malware threats have impacted many globally," Chharia said.

The government is taking measures to spread awareness about cybercrime and building capacity for safety measures, and the adoption of MANRS and association with ISOC will help ensure a safer Internet for all, he added.

Chharia said ISPAI will organise meetings, seminars, workshops and conferences on routing security for its members as well as non-members.

ISOC has already conducted a network security workshop during the inaugural India Network Operators Group meeting (INNOG). More such workshops will be organised in different parts of the country, he said.

The initiatives will focus on filtering (to help prevent propagation of incorrect routing information), anti-spoofing (preventing traffic with spoofed source IP addresses), coordination (timely communication and coordination among peers) and encouraging network operators to publish routing data to make the global system more resilient.