Strengthen cybersecurity system: UGC to institutions

The UGC’s decision came after receiving instruction from the Ministry of Education asking the commission to take necessary action to popularise the initiatives of Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) among universities and colleges. 

The I4C scheme focuses on strengthening the capability of prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of cybercrimes in a coordinated and comprehensive manner. It 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 a centralised mechanism for citizens to report complaints related to cybercrime, has recently been operationalised by the Home Ministry. 

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

The commission urged all vice-chancellors and principals to give wide publicity among students, faculty and stakeholders about the initiatives of I4C, 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 competitions, hackathons, workshops, and seminars on cybersecurity and cybercrimes at regular intervals. The commission also asked the institution managements to share the action taken on the university activity portal of the UGC.