Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, March 14: A parliamentary panel has requested the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) to arrange a robust and comprehensive strategy to counter cyber-attacks.
Many proposals for MoCA were included in the report that the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism, and Culture sent to Parliament on March 13.
The Committee believes that the aviation industry is extremely exposed to cyber security risks because the majority of the major airlines have disclosed cases of cyber-attacks in recent years, placing air operations and passenger data at great danger. It is aware that a number of recent flights in the United States of America were cancelled or delayed as a result of a potential cyberattack that rendered the websites of the airlines inoperable.
The Committee takes note of the issue of the required circular or order for preventing cyberattacks and safeguarding private information in India’s aviation industry.
The Committee supports the Ministry’s decision to ask airport/aircraft operators for reports on the preventive steps they have taken to safeguard the civil aviation sector from potential cyber security threats. The Committee advises the Government to speed up the receipt of responses from the affected parties and requests information on a list of all the cyber security precautions taken by airport and aircraft operators.
It also mentions that 13 instances of cyberattacks have been reported with AAI during the past five years. The Committee is interested in learning more about these attacks’ specifics and the Ministry’s response thereof.
The Committee observes that from 2019 to 2022, AAI spent Rs 51.80 crores on implementing cyber security in civil aviation.
It believes that the Ministry should focus its efforts on overcoming the problems, including the need for a multidisciplinary approach, data protection, and a shortage of competent labour.
The Committee additionally advises the Ministry to investigate the potential of adding a new budget head and increasing the budgetary allocations in order to properly monitor the difficulties relating to cyber security.
