Kolkata, Nov 23 (IANS) Indian authorities should introduce courses on cyber security in schools and colleges besides setting up police cyber cells manned by tech-savvy officers in all cities to prevent online attacks, cyber security expert Ankit Fadia said here Monday.
The 24-year-old Fadia — who calls himself an “ethical hacker” and advises companies, governmental bodies and security agencies both in India and abroad on cyber security — also said India should seek international cooperation to check cyber crimes.

“International cooperation should be increased. India should propose something like an Interpol or a United Nations body for cyber security,” Fadia, who has authored 14 books on cyber crimes and remedies, told reporters.

According to him, educational institutions like the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) should run courses on ethical hacking — the practice of hacking sites and e-mail IDs to point out the shortcomings to organisations and individuals and offer remedies.

Maintaining that the Indian police lacked training to enforce “good cyber laws”, Fadia said: “Police forces in every city should have cyber cells run by tech-savvy officials.”

Fadia also said there were security loopholes in various government websites, including some in the telecom sector, besides those of educational institutes.

“China has ramped up its cyber security by several notches in recent years. Pakistani cyber criminals are able to deface 50 to 60 Indian websites a day, but in retaliation only 10 to 15 Pakistani websites are defaced,” he said.

“India is no doubt the world’s IT capital. But as far as security is concerned, our country has fallen far behind,” said Fadia, who was in the city to promote the MTV tech show “What the Hack” which he co-hosts.