India and the U.S should work together closely to raise their cyber defenses in both the short and long term, to disrupt and interrupt malicious actors in cyberspace, and to improve their ability to respond to and recover from cyber threats, said Michael Daniel, special assistant to the President and Cybersecurity Coordinator.
Daniel acknowledged India’s recent statements of support for the multi-stakeholder model of Internet governance, and said the collaboration between the two countries should focus on ensuring that Internet continues to be an open, interoperable, global platform that enables international trade and commerce, strengthens international security, and fosters free expression and innovation.
In a significant advancement in U.S.-India cyber security collaboration, the U.S.-India Cyber Security Dialogue took place in Washington, D.C., on August 10.
Senior business leaders shared their views on cyber challenges with senior Indian and U.S. government officials, including Dr. Arvind Gupta, deputy national security advisor; Dr. Gulshan Rai, cyber coordinator, Prime Minister’s Office; and Michael Daniel, special assistant to the President and Cybersecurity Coordinator, National Security Council, White House; Chris Painter, coordinator for Cyber Issues, U.S. Department of State.
The long-awaited talks build on the January 2015 joint statement between Prime Minister Modi and President Obama that emphasized the need to “… cooperate on enhancing operational sharing of cyber threat information, examining how international law applies in cyberspace, and working together to build agreement on norms of responsible state behavior.”
“The resumption of the dialogue itself is a positive sign. We are hopeful that the governments and industries from both the countries can work together to chart the way forward for a successful U.S.-India partnership in responding to the evolving cyber challenges,” said Arvind Gupta, Deputy National Security Advisor.
Dr. Mukesh Aghi, President of the U.S.-India Business Council said, “As the digital economy continues to develop, the interdependency between governments and businesses will grow. It is in the interest of all parties to continue to engage in dialogues that spur policy developments and economic growth.”
Industry leaders from the United States submitted policy recommendations to the U.S. Government and the Government of India, emphasizing the need to protect cross border data flow, facilitate remote access, provide for strong encryption standards, and reduce cybersecurity threats through targeted public-private partnerships.
The event was attended by senior executives from the Council’s member companies that include: Oracle, IBM, Google, Microsoft, Symantec, Intel, AT&T, Cisco, Verizon and Wipro. The Council collaborated with the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) and the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) on the industry recommendations that were presented to both governments.
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