MHA ropes in IITs, IIITs, other top institutes to train first batch of cyber commandos

NEW DELHI: The Government has tied up with the IITs and the IIITs to train its first batch of cyber commandos, as the special wing is scheduled to be commissioned next month with nearly 350 selected personnel drawn from different state police forces, officials said on Thursday. The officials, while quoting a communication from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to such institutions, said, apart from the National Police Academy, institutions such as IIT Kanpur, IIT Madras, IIT Kottayam, IIIT Naya Raipur, RRU Gandhinagar, and NFSU Delhi have been asked to train the first batch of Cyber Commandos. A senior official said, “A a scheme has been drawn to create a core group of highly trained police personnel, cyber commandos, who will be responsible for securing infrastructure in Information and Communication Technologies, incident response, and digital forensics in their respective organisations and also as national resource.” These cyber experts will respond to events of cyberattacks and will prevent and address such threats, the official said, adding that candidates, who are selected for training, include investigation officers and senior police officers. According to the officials, for this purpose the MHA has shortlisted the institutes and the first batch of nearly 350 prospective cyber commandos will be sent for training to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy, Hyderabad; Rashtriya Raksha University, Gandhinagar; NFSU Delhi; NFSU Gandhinagar; IIT Kanpur; IIT Madras; IIIT Kottayam; IIIT Naya Raipur; DIAT Pune; and NFSU Goa.