Cyber Shikshaa To Strengthen Cyber Security And Generate Employment

Microsoft India, the National Association for Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), and the Indian government have jointly launched a three-year programme to train 1000 women engineering graduates in cyber security.

- Aniket Panja

The programme, which has been named Cyber Shikshaa, will be undertaken in ten locations across India and the trained graduates will be offered employment opportunities in Microsoft India.

Cyber Shikshaa, whose first phase will roll out in Noida, Patna, Hyderabad, and Mohali is open to women science graduates aged between 20 and 27. India witnessed at least one cyber-crime every 10 minutes during the first half of 2017 and Indian companies are struggling to strengthen their cybersecurity teams due to resource shortages. This programme aims to bridge that gap and create employment opportunities in the field of cyber security.

According to recent reports, the number of internet users worldwide was 3.58 billion, up from 3.39 billion in the previous year. Easier access to computers, technological advancement, and an increased penetration of smart-phones have contributed to this increased internet usage. As of March 2017, there were approximately 731 million internet users in China and 287 million internet users in the United States. Subsequently, the global mobile data traffic is set to surpass 49 exabytes per month in 2021, up from seven exabytes per month as of 2016.

Social networking is one of the most popular online activities and Facebook is the most popular online network based on active usage. As of the fourth quarter of 2016, there were a total of roughly 1.86 billion monthly active Facebook users, accounting for almost half of internet users worldwide. With people investing more in online assets and technology evolving at rates faster than ever before, the opportunities for cyber criminals to exploit the situation is also increasing.

Dangers of online data