The University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked universities and colleges to strengthen their cyber security systems in light of the significant increase in cyber-crime incidents. The University Grants Commission has directed higher education institutions to create an event calendar and hold awareness campaigns, regular competitions, hackathons, and workshops on cyber security on their campuses. According to the Commission, these workshops and events will prepare students to prevent or respond to new-age crimes.
The UGC has also directed that educational institutions hold these events on a regular basis, and also follow the Covid-19 protocols and social distancing norms.
Universities and colleges have also been encouraged to report the steps they’ve taken to address cyber security issues on the UGC’s University Activity Portal. The official statement reads, “It is once again requested to give wide publicity amongst students, faculty and stakeholders about the initiatives of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (l4C) of Ministry of Home Affairs MHA’s Twitter handle @CyberDost, the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal which provides updates and advisories at regular intervals for prevention of cyber-crimes.”