Microsoft plans cybersecurity centre in Connaught Place

NEW DELHI: American technology giant Microsoft is setting up a cybersecurity centre in the heart of New Delhi to arm governments and private agencies with all-round intelligence on cyber attacks within the country.

The centre, which is likely to be in Connaught Place in close proximity to most government establishments, would target the spread of malware by monitoring the Internet traffic flowing through the country, Bhaskar Pramanik, chairman at Microsoft India, said.

“Security is becoming a big conversation topic, especially when are talking about the cloud,” he told ET in an interview. To be modelled on Microsoft’s biggest such setup at its headquarters in Redmond, Washington, it would be inaugurated sometime in October or November.

Microsoft has seven such centres globally that have partnerships with international law enforcement agencies such as Interpol and Europol to fight cybercrime. The centre will be an expanded version of a small one launched in June this year in the company's Gurgaon office.

While the centre will be a completely Microsoft set up, it will give the necessary details about malware and attacks to the government on which they can take precautionary measures and actions, Pramanik said.

“We shared this idea with the government departments and they are all very excited about it,” he said, adding that the idea to base the centre in central Delhi was to ensure that top officials from government departments in close vicinity can “see it for themselves.” The launch of the centre comes on the heels of a discussion between PM Narendra Modi and Microsoft’s global chief Satya Nadella during his last visit to India.