Cyber Security in IndiaFirst of all, what does cyber security mean? Cyber security involves protecting information and systems from major cyber threats, such as cyber terrorism, cyber warfare, and cyber espionage. In unembellished words, it can be termed as Information security.However, why do we require Cyber Security here in India? It is a thing which cant be vilified for national security. Cyber security initiatives, projects and policies are trifling in number. India lacks defence and security capabilities and is also inept of dealing with jaundiced malwares like Flame and Blackshades. Cyber security breaches are increasing all over the world exponentially and India must be cyber prepared. There are minimal number of cyber security experts available in the country. Although, many projects and acts have been passed by the governments, but none have been efficient enough as the governments did not materialise them and they remained on plain papers.There is a grave need to protect the security of banks, thermal and nuclear plants, satellites, power grids etc. as they are too vulnerable to be attacked. The cyber-crimes in India have risen by about 61% as registered by the IT Act 2000. According to the report of a foreign organisation, ASSOCHAMKPMG, India ranks at no. 3 in terms of internet users which in turn makes the security more in peril. It also said that India is one among the top 10 spam sending countries. Recently, a Russian hacker broadcasted the usernames and passwords of 4.93 million Google accounts all over the world. Although according to an official statement by Google, less than 2% of the username and password combinations might have worked. But still, it was a wakeup call for the worlds biggest company.A report was filed to the Indian government which stated that the NSA is spying on the Indian users and the organizations. The leak was majorly focussed on the domestic politics and its commercial and economic benefits. Amid this saga, a major act was unveiled in July 2013 by the government, which again was not implemented rationally. Its mission is to protect information and information infrastructure in cyberspace, build capabilities to prevent and respond to cyber threat, reduce vulnerabilities and minimize damage from cyber incidents through a combination of institutional structures, people, processes, technology and cooperation, as stated in File NO: 2(35)/2011-CERT-In.More recently, Israel has also supplicated India to be a part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus latest pet project of national cyber defence authority to work alongside it in a joint effort against cyber terrorism. This authority will collaborate with the Israel National Cyber Bureau, in Israeli PMO that would cover all aspects of cyber threats both in terms of national security, economic activities and data of individuals. The goal is to grail for a connection between civilian and military authorities in India and Israel, to detect opposition to the safety of both countries. India has also created ties with burgeoned countries like UK, US etc. which will lead to a better foundation against cyber security issues.Following a UN resolution in 1997, an act was passed by the Indian government in 2000, widely known as IT act 2000 which came into existence on Oct 17, 2000. This was the first ever step taken by the Indian government. to protect the nation from cyber terrorism. This act consisted of 94 sections which were divided into 13 chapters. According to section 65 of the IT act 2000, tampering with computer source (open source) documents may lead to a fine of Rs. 2 lakhs or imprisonment up to 3 years or both. Section 66 of the same act states that hacking may lead to a fine of Rs. 5 lakhs or imprisonment up to three years or both. However many amendments were made to this act in 2008, this amended act had provided additional focus on information security. The Act provides legal framework to address the issues connected with security breaches of information technology infrastructure.These acts make a difference, but if the citizens are cognizant of the cyber space, cyber terrorism, it would be like icing on the cake. Common and easy measures which dont require any technical dexterity can be implemented by individuals to protect themselves from cyber-crimes and reduce it to a small scale. Passwords should be changed frequently, firewalls must be activated, cookies must be cleared, and third party scripts should never be allowed to enter your system.From account handling to major business transactions, IT has jacketed most of the crucial sectors. Living in such scenario, we need to acknowledge the significance of cyber mishandling and not only should government continue to make effort but also as an informed citizen we should make earnest effort to avoid any kind of possibilities that leave us thin-skinned to cyber world because it comes with its own set of problems.