Cyber security is more than protecting personal data: Isro chief

In this era, when infrastructure built over the years is vulnerable to cyber attacks, it is very important to build an ecosystem to develop cyber security tools and solutions, Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman S Somanath said on Thursday.

He laid the foundation stone for 'Cyber Nalanda', a state-ofthe- art cyber security research and development centre, the brainchild of SISA, a global forensics-driven cybersecurity solutions company, that is coming up in Bengaluru. "I was from a generation of engineers who started their career without knowing computers.

The transitioning from that time to now has been tremendous," said Somanath. According to him, at one point, security was nothing but anti-virus. "But now, as applications are expanding, threats are also expanding. Cyber security threat is not limited to theft of personal data alone. It is now at a much greater scale it is also to do with the security of the nation itself," said Somanath.

He pointed out that the various successful missions of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), like Chandrayaan and Gaganyaan, were often commanded from across the globe, leaving them vulnerable for cyber attacks. "So, it is imperative that we strengthen the research in this domain," added Somanath. Cyber Nalanda aims to become a global hub for cybersecurity innovation, focusing on collaboration with academia, said Dharshan Shanthamurthy, CEO & founder of SISA.