Union electronics and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday said the government has taken comprehensive technical and legal measures to deal with cyber attacks adding that India was able to thwart major cyberattacks during the G20 summit and Ram temple inauguration ceremony.

During Question Hour proceeding in Rajya Sabha, the minister informed that the government is also creating awareness among people to deal with this challenge.

“Cyberattacks are a big challenge for us,” Vaishnaw said.

The development comes in wake of concerns expressed in the Upper House over the surge in cyber threats.

The matter was raised by Niranjan Bishi of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), who flagged concerns regarding safeguarding of public savings.

Bishi, in his question, said that cyber attacks are increasing and highlighted that more than 30 lakh bank customers have fallen prey and that there has already been a ₹28,000 crore bank fraud.

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“A comprehensive, legal, technical and awareness-centred work has been done to inform the people”, he said.

Vaishnaw stated that India has a robust cybersecurity policy, and it is being implemented very carefully.

Vaishnaw said the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 will provide a structured framework to safeguard citizens’ data and its existing provisions under the Information Technology (IT) Act have been strengthened.

The minister said that the new Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita Act (BNS) has provisions for punishments for cyber-criminals.

Referring to the technical side, Vaishnaw said the Union home ministry has created the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) to deal with cybercrimes in a coordinated manner.