The Internet Society (ISOC) and Internet Service Providers Association of India (ISPAI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to undertake initiatives and activities to promote mutually agreed norms for routing security (MANRS), in India. MANRS is a program whose primary objective is to reduce the most common threats to the Internet's routing system, said a statement.
“The MoU is a step towards taking immediate action to improve the resilience and security of the routing infrastructure in India, and keep the Internet safe for businesses and consumers alike,” said ISPAI.
According to India's Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-in), 44,679, 49,455 and 50,362 cybersecurity incidents took place in India during the years 2014, 2015 and 2016, respectively. These incidents include phishing, website intrusions, and defacements, virus and denial of service attacks amongst others. Routing security is vital to the future and stability of the Internet and MANRS provides simple but concrete steps for network operators that enable dramatically improved Internet security and reliability said ISOC.
MANRS is a community-driven initiative supported by the ISOC, a global non-profit organization. Whilst the ISPAI serves as the voice of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in India and is actively involved in the development of Internet infrastructure throughout the country. Both ISOC and ISPAI share a mutual vision of an open and global Internet that enables innovation and social opportunities.
“As per a survey conducted by ISOC, cybersecurity is one of the top concerns for Internet users in the Asia Pacific region and unsecured routing is one of the most common reasons for malicious threats. With the explosive growth of the Internet in India and the region, it is imperative that we work towards building secure routing infrastructure by adopting MANRS. It is encouraging to see a leading organization such as ISPAI supporting MANRS and we look forward to further collaboration,” said Rajnesh Singh, Regional Bureau Director – Asia Pacific, ISOC.
Rajesh Chharia, President, ISPAI said, “The number of Internet users in India is skyrocketing and it is expected to double by 2021. However, there are growing concerns over cyber security and data security and the recent malware threats have impacted many globally. The government is taking measures to spread awareness about cybercrime and building capacity for safety measures, and the adoption of MANRS and association with ISOC will help ensure a safer Internet for all.”
As part of the MoU, both ISPAI and ISOC will focus on capacity building to undertake initiatives and activities to promote adoption of MANRS in India, to cooperate and render mutual assistance, and to encourage the attendance of ISPAI members to meetings, seminars, workshops and conferences on routing security. To support this initiative, ISOC conducted a “Network Security” workshop during the inaugural India Network Operators Group meeting (INNOG). The MoU will also see both organizations exchanging research information and training materials related to routing security.
