‘Cyber threat is a global issue’

Source: The Hindu.

Cyber threats cannot be localised, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) – an arm of the UN – is trying to formulate a legal framework to deal with the issue, a senior government official has said.

“Cyber security is of global nature and the ITU is serious about dealing with cyber threats,” Deputy Director (International Relations), Department of Telecommunications, R.N. Jha, told PTI here.

Regarding hacking of sensitive information by some countries, he said the union, of which India is a prominent member, is looking at setting up a legal mechanism to deal with such matters.

However, cyber warfare is a far more serious issue as it can be launched from any part of the world, and hence, it cannot be tackled by nations at the individual level, Jha said.

For this, ITU had formulated a cyber security agenda in 2008 and identified some important pillars like harmonised legal framework, mutual cooperation and identification of culprits for extradition to the affected country, Jha said.