India, Japan vow to crack down on cyber crimes

NEW DELHI: India has sought assistance from Japan on the latest technologies and expertise to tackle cyber criminals in Internet espionage, cyber terrorism and stealing personal as well as critical data.

Last week, officials from the Ministry of Telecom and the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) met with a visiting top Japanese trade delegation led by Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yoichi Miyazawa.

Both sides discussed how the two countries can join hands to check cyber crime, an official source said.

The major area of focus was technologies that can help in securing the flow of information on the Internet as well as protect critical government data on cloud. India has also asked Japan to help it with technologies that can check hackers and network intrusions, the source added.

Besides the relevant technology, discussions also covered India's cyber security laws.

"In view of the country's rising status, the Japanese delegation felt that India should have the relevant law enforcement infrastructure, including a legal framework, to tackle cyber crime so as to assure the global business community that their investments are safe," another government official said.

The issue assumes importance, given that Japan has evinced strong interest in investing in India in many sectors, including information and communications technology (ICT).

Besides, the delegation has pledged to invest around USD 3 billion in India in the immediate future in various sectors, especially IT and telecom.

Last week, Japan signed a 5-point action agenda with India to increase bilateral trade and investment between the two nations, including working on development and co-operation in the IT sector, enhancing cooperation in strategic sectors and Asia-Pacific economic integration.