NCDC develops cyber-security framework to help cooperatives

Faced with the possible threat of cyber assaults in an expanding digital era, cooperative societies, including banks, can now look towards a comprehensive cyber-security framework laid out by the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) to secure their operations from crooks lurking in the cyber world.

The framework provides a road map and enlists Do’s and Don’ts regarding security assets, Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond and Recover as the pillars of securing networks to the cooperatives. The move comes close on the heels of the Centre’s decision to chalk out an action plan aiming to computerize all Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) across the country and link them with District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs), State Cooperative Banks (SCBs) and NABARD.

“The 42-page framework aiming to provide guidance to an organization on managing cyber-security risk is now available for implementation by all DCCBs and SCBs,” said Sundeep Nayak, Managing Director of the NCDC.

At the meeting held in a hybrid mode under the Cooperative Institutions Cyber-security Advisory Forum (CICAF) of the NCDC, former national cyber security coordinator, Dr Gulshan Rai, the brain behind the policy, said the framework “Cyber-security and IT Guidelines for User Interaction”, having four levels, aimed to provide for systems and structures that need to be set up in an organization and provided for steps to be in place/to be taken to secure and protect the system/IT assets.

“The framework is not a one-size-fits-all approach for all critical organizations in the sector as each one’s risk is unique,” Nayak said at the meeting, which was well attended by cyber security heads and representatives of a wide spectrum of cooperatives.

Currently, there are about 65,000 PACs which the Centre plans to increase to more than 3 lakh in the next five years to realize the vision of making the country Atmanirbhar (self-reliant).

Former Union Fertilizer Secretary and senior advisor to NCDC, Dr Chhabilendra Roul, termed the NCDC move ‘a good beginning’ in bringing the framework since cyber predators are always ahead of the IT developers.

Dr Rajeev Ranjan, former Union Fisheries Secretary and currently a senior advisor to NCDC, emphasized “ensuring adequate infrastructure to the smaller cooperatives and business who without a significant IT or information security budget could struggle to ensure a web security.”

Dileep Sanghani, President, National Cooperative Union of India (NCUI), called for training, guidance and capacity building as the need of the hour besides creating awareness like holding webinars among the stakeholders, particularly smaller cooperatives.

Prasoon Kumar Das, APRACA Secretary-General, emphasized having crystal-clear policies, ecosystem auditing of all the areas in the sector as well as providing incentives to the players.