Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami Leads Cybersecurity Meeting

On October 6, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami held a crucial meeting in Dehradun to address a malware attack that temporarily shut down the state’s data centre. The Chief Minister instructed officials to expedite the scanning of the State Data Centre and prioritize the restoration of public interest department sites by Monday.

Key Directives and Attendees

The meeting, held at the Chief Minister’s residence, included experts, police, and senior officials from the State Data Center, State Wide Area Network (SWAN), National Informatics Centre (NIC), and Information Technology Development Agency (ITDA). The Chief Minister emphasized the formation of a cybersecurity task force and the modernization of the State Data Centre’s security system with assistance from top Indian IT agencies.

Future Security Measures

Chief Minister Dhami called for a disaster recovery centre to safeguard online platforms and data. He urged the study and implementation of best practices from other states and central agencies. The ITDA’s technical work will be reviewed, and any negligence will lead to action against the responsible company. The Chief Minister also stressed the importance of filling ITDA positions promptly and providing cybersecurity training to staff.

Current Status and Actions

Secretary Nitesh Jha reported no data loss from the malware, which affected 11 out of 1378 virtual machines. The data centre has undergone multiple scans, and key sites like e-office and CM helpline Suchaaru are operational. Chief Secretary Radha Raturi and other high-ranking officials attended the meeting.