The overall Global market for information security products and services is projected to increase close to 22 percent per annum through 2008 to over $60 billion, representing an improvement over the 2001-2002 performance when information technology budgets were squeezed as part of the fallout from the tech sector downturn. Much prospective growth will reflect organizational efforts to build integrated information security platforms on enterprise-wide bases, with the twin goals of maximizing protection while simplifying the performance and management of the info security function.

•      Demand for Skilled IT security manpower is over 1 million in India as per NASSCOM
•      Education Industry grew at over 20% even during recession
•      As per the “Global IT Security Market Forecast to 2012” prepared by RNCOS, the global IT Security Market will   grow at a CAGR of 15.5% through 2012 from 2008
•      The global Information Security market is estimated to be over $60 billion already
•      Demand of manpower is 2.4 million Skilled Security professionals worldwide
•      Cyber armies alone to deploy over 35000 it security professionals

1.1 Indian army builds up for cyber warfare 2008-05-02 
Guarding the borders, battling militants and training for blitzkrieg battles is just not enough now. Facing mounting attacks in the virtual world, the Indian Army is now gearing up for battles in the digitized battlefield as well.

The ongoing army commanders' conference, chaired by General Deepak Kapoor, has decided to boost the "cyber-security" of its information networks right down to the level of divisions, which are basically field formations with over 15,000 troops. Apart from creating cyber-security organizations down to the division-level to guard against cyber warfare and data thefts, the Army top brass has also underlined the urgent need for "periodic cyber-security audits" by the Army Cyber Security Establishment (ACSE).

"The most advanced armies in the world like the US one also face 3,000 to 4,000 attempts a year to hack their networks. As our Army boosts its infotech levels, we also become more vulnerable to such threats. Future conflicts will be fought by 'networks'," said a senior officer. Both China and Pakistan, for instance, are bolstering their cyber-warfare or information warfare capabilities at a rapid clip. China, in particular, has made cyber-warfare one of its topmost military priorities, with Chinese hackers breaking into sensitive computer networks of the US, UK, Germany and even India on a regular basis.

"By crippling or destroying an adversary's economic, communication and strategic networks and infrastructure, cyber-warfare can even prove more deadly than ballistic missile strikes. It can, for instance, be in the form of denial-of-service cyber-attacks and paralysing computer viruses," said another officer. The Indian armed forces, of course, are also trying to hone their information warfare weapons as well as enhance their C4ISR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) capabilities.

The tri-service integrated defence staff, on its part, has also come out with an information warfare doctrine. But the progress is slow compared to the infotech boom in the civilian arena. Even as the armed forces take some strides forward on the infotech superhighway, the need to protect their own systems from cyber-attacks of hostile forces is increasingly being felt.

  1.2 India M.O.D to Strengthen Cyber Security

India Defence Online, New Delhi — Indian Defence Minister AK Antony has directed the Armed Forces to work in unison and make cyber systems ‘as secure and as non-porous as possible’.

Addressing the Army Commanders, he said “The paradigms of security in the age of Information Technology are seldom constant. The evolving security matrix is complex and calls for co-operation and coordination of the highest level. Today, no single service can work in isolation. Cyber warfare and threats to cyber security are fast becoming the next generation of threats. We need to make our cyber systems as secure and as non-porous as possible”.

Antony made a strong plea for synergy among the three Forces and said the future security matrix calls for a high-degree of cooperation and inter-dependence among the Services. He said the primary area of focus should be to develop as a force capable of operating in a joint network – centric environment. Besides these, the other emerging areas that warrant synergised development are space, NBC, Cyber Warfare capabilities, Air Defence, Rotary Wing Assistance, precision munitions, standoff targeting and missiles, communication systems, logistics and joint training.

“Though significant progress has been made towards accomplishing jointness in various operational training and administrative facets among the three Services, there are a number of areas congruence that need to be strengthened further”, he said.

Referring to the Modernization Plans of the Armed Forces, the Defence Minister said it is in our long term national interest that we become self reliant in the field of critical defence equipment. He said modernization plans of the Armed Forces encompass force modernization and development of critical combat capabilities, not only against potential adversaries, but across the spectrum of conflict. Modernization of the Armed Forces wholly depends upon the capital acquisition plan. However, the acquisition of critical technologies from foreign countries is subject to various technology denial regimes and the prevailing global geo-political situation. Shri Antony said the Defence Public Sector Undertakings are today at a threshold, capable of undertaking design and development work as also to come up with product upgrades on their own. Despite these achievements we must guard against complacency and must ceaselessly work towards more value addition, product support and service ability of the supplies made to the end-users – the Services. “It is the collective responsibility of all DPSUs to optimize cost-effectiveness and must adhere to time and cost targets”, Antony said.

1.3 Obama seeks big boost in cybersecurity spending Sathya Mithra Ashok | Feb 15, 2011

The White House is proposing a big increase in cyber security research and development in next year’s budget to improve, in part, its ability to reduce the risk of insider threats, and ensure the safety of control systems such as those used at power plants.

In detailing their 2012 budget proposal yesterday, White House officials didn’t mention WikiLeaks and its release of tens of thousands of diplomatic cables and military documents, or the ability of the Stuxnet worm to damage Iran’s nuclear control systems. But the fingerprints of both these incidents on this budget proposal seemed clear enough.

Philip Coyle, associate director for national security, said at the budget briefing on Monday that the administration is proposing “considerable growth” in cyber security research. When all the cyber security spending plans across the board are added, cyber security research and development spending will increase 35% to $548 million next year, he said.

Stuxnet illustrated how a cyber attack could corrupt a specifically targeted critical control system — in this case, Iran’s centrifuges. But attacks on critical facilities in the U.S. have been a longstanding concern.

The Department of Homeland Security formed teams last year to test power plants for cyber security weaknesses.

Other cyber security initiatives that are funded in this spending plan include new research programs at the National Science Foundation (NSF), as well as research on a trusted identity system. Day-to-day spending on cyber security by federal agencies is not part of this research budget.

The cyber security research spending is part of an overall research and development budget proposal for next year that includes across-the-board increases for a range of research efforts, including robotics, climate change, and funding to expand the supply and capabilities of science, technology, engineering, and math teachers.

Overall, the budget seeks $66.1 billion for basic and applied research across all areas, an 11.6% increase. “The aim of that is to develop the solutions – the innovative solutions to the many challenges we face,” John Holdren, Obama’s top science advisor, said at the budget briefing.

Peter Harsha, director of government affairs at the Computing Research Association, wrote in a blog post that the White House proposal “is essentially ‘dead on arrival’ as far as the House is concerned.”

But it’s still important to have a good request from the President and the agencies on record when we go advocating for the science agencies,” he wrote. CRA members include many universities, such as Stanford, Carnegie Mellon University and Harvard, as well as Microsoft , IBM , Hewlett-Packard and many other companies.

President Barack Obama has made science and research funding a high priority, and has repeatedly said that the U.S. is facing a new “Sputnik moment.”

But the White House budget faces Republican lawmakers in the House who have already proposed more than a $2 billion in cuts to science to this year’s budget.

Holdren said at the budget briefing that if the Republican’s proposed cuts were to happen, “they would cripple our ability to advance innovation,” at the budget briefing. The White House research proposal will provide, among other things, $7.8 billion to the National Science Foundation, 13% more than was approved this year. The Department of Energy’s Office of Science would see $5.4 billion, a 10.7% increase. The federal budget proposal specifically seeks new research in advanced manufacturing technologies, including nano-manufacturing and robotics. The White House believes robotics is “nearing a tipping point in terms of its usefulness and versatility,” and initiated a grant proposal last fall to seek robotic proposals. The government is seeking development of “co-robots,” systems “that can safely co-exist in close proximity to or in physical contact with humans in the pursuit of mundane, dangerous, precise or expensive tasks,” according to the grant announcement. Aneesh Chopra, the U.S. government’s CTO, said that a number of agencies are interested in the role robotics might play in manufacturing, and productivity gains they may bring.

“We believe there is an opportunity to take a fresh look, and a more energising look at robotics,” Chopra said. “We want to run the spectrum on robotics — that which can deliver breakthroughs on current technologies that are applied in new and novel ways, as well as well building blocks of future capabilities that are just still nascent.”