The world economy today is driven by digital data. Data has become a core asset of any organization.
Whenever we are on the web, we leave a trail of information. Anybody can follow anyone in the age of internet. Multinational companies such as Facebook, Google, Adobe, Microsoft, Amazon, Flipkart and other such big and small companies rely on data generated on the internet for their business.
This data allows them to understand user preferences and market products. Every time a credit card is swiped at a store, a trail of brand preference, place of shopping etc. is left behind. Even when someone is browsing through for instance www.amazon.com, the company knows lot of information regarding user’s preferences. They can track all the information by the use of cookies.
Evidently, over the past few years, cyber-crimes have multiplied. Bank accounts and other sensitive information often gets hacked. Thus, it is very important that the collected data is protected. Protecting and access to data, monitoring its use, privacy, and data sharing are some of the important problems faced by various national and multi-national organizations.
The Indian Information Technology Act, 2000 deals with cyber-crimes. Though, the IT Act is 18 years old, it is still evolving. But for a lay-man it becomes very difficult to understand the legal intricacies related to this. Even the counsels working in the legal department and IT specialists of various multi-national companies are not effectively trained in this area. Therefore, there is an urgent need to train individuals, lawyers, techies and in-house counsels regarding the rules governing data protection and cyber security.
The need of the hour
The need of the hour is to clearly establish a professional certified course that delivers the skills that are required to ensure data protection and cyber security. A person should have a sound understanding of computer, internet and the legal system associated with it. Even the lawyers should have knowledge of computers. In India, there is no one single course that addresses the issues involved in data protection and cyber security. It is important to do so at the earliest. Otherwise, a multi-national corporation may violate laws and land up paying huge amount in compensation.
What should the course do!
The course should in the first place identify important aspects of computer technology and terminology. It should bring about an understanding about how data is captured, used, and misused; how cyber security is compromised by hackers and terrorists.
It should also give a clear understanding about the various rules such as the IT Act and its enforcement and identify the essential resources and the set of skills required to comply with these rules. The course should also bring various stake-holders such as IT specialists, security experts, lawyers, and others to come together and conduct joint exercises in resolving compliance and enforcement issues to ensure prevention of any possible misuse of personal information, collected by the IT companies.
Future career prospects
There is a great need for professionals who are professionally trained in this area. There are fantastic career opportunities for anyone who pursues a course on data protection and cyber security. Such a course will greatly help individuals to be ready and will give in a position to enhance their careers in the future.
Now a days, many organizations are willing to hire people with the right knowledge and skill to ensure that the risk of litigation is mitigated by ensuring IT regulations are rightly complied with.