India and Israel sign agreement to expand cooperation in cyber security
Jerusalem : India and Israel have signed an agreement to further expand collaboration in dealing with cyber threats amid rapid digitisation due to the coronavirus pandemic that exposed the vulnerabilities of the virtual world.
The agreement was signed on Wednesday between the Director-General of Israel’s National Cyber Directorate (INCD), Yigal Unna, and India’s Ambassador to Israel, Sanjeev Singla.
“Deepening cooperation with India is another important step in confronting global cyber threats,” Unna said.
“The accelerated digitisation processes that accompany the enormous challenge of dealing with the COVID-19 epidemic and the increase in threats in cyberspace bring with them challenges and the need to quickly build protected services and systems,” Unna told PTI after signing the agreement.
“Israel can contribute from its experience and can benefit from the vast experience gained in India in dealing with cyber attacks,” he added.
Announcing the signing of the MoU on operational collaboration in cyber security, the Indian embassy’s twitter handle described it as a “new normal” in “staying the course and reaching newer heights together”.
“Cyber security is a growing and natural area of close cooperation between India and Israel. It has been emphasised strongly by our two Prime Ministers. And its relevance has been underscored by the latest COVID-19 pandemic,” Singla told PTI.
The MoU signed between the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT), a unit of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, and INCD deepens the operational cooperation between the two sides and will expand the scope of exchange of information on cyber threats in order to raise the levels of protection in the field.
The agreement lays down the framework for dialogue, cooperation in capacity building, mutual exchange of best practices in the field and facilitates regular exchanges.
