India government to develop cyber-surveillance agency

The Indian government plans to develop a dedicated cyber-surveillance agency after a series of examples of Internet misuse came to light.

National security advisor Shivshanker Menon recently chaired a meeting, also featuring senior officials from the Home Ministry and the National Security Council Secretariat, on the issue.

Once the new body is up and running, companies may be better equipped to deal with problems such as brand protection and cybersquatting.

An official said: “The agency will have an effective monitoring system, comprising duly tasked and technologically empowered cyber monitoring and surveillance agencies.”

A legal regime is also going to be produced by the government and it is hoped this will fill any existing gaps in the Information Technology Act.

The Department of Electronics and Information Technology will prepare a comprehensive policy paper on the matter.