UGC asks Higher Educational Institutions to strengthen the cyber security system

The UGC's decision in this regard came against the backdrop of the instruction received from the Ministry of Education requesting the commission to take necessary action regarding popularising the initiatives of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (14C) of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) among HEIs.

Accordingly 14C scheme of MHA focuses on strengthening the capability of prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of cybercrimes in a coordinated and comprehensive manner.

The 14C is actively involved in developing a robust ecosystem for securing cyberspace, giving due emphasis on capacity building. Further, the National Cybercrime reporting portal, which provides for a centralised mechanism of complaint reporting by citizens relating to cybercrime has been operationalised by MHA recently.

There is a special focus in the portal on cybercrime against women and children and it allows the de-centralized dealing of each complaint by law enforcement agencies of the State and UT concerned.

The commission had urged all the vice-chancellors and principals of HEIs to give wide publicity amongst students, faculty and stakeholders about the initiatives of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, which provides updates and advisories at regular intervals for the prevention of cybercrimes.

The UGC also asked the universities and colleges to prepare a calendar of events and arrange regular competitions, hackathons, workshops, and seminars on cyber security and cyber crimes at regular intervals following protocols and norms amid the COVID-19 pandemic situation.

The commission also asked the management of the HEIs to share the action taken on the University Activity Portal of UGC.