New Delhi: Cybersecurity is critical for the national security of India and the US even as both countries have been collaborating technologically for decades, said Taranjit Singh Sandhu, India’s Ambassador to the US.
Speaking at the Global Technology Summit organised by the Ministry of External Affairs and Carnegie India, Sandhu Monday said technology is a major enabler today and added that with the pandemic, it has become a “game changer”.
ThePrint is the digital partner of the Global Technology Summit.
“Technology is helping us in fighting the pandemic today in more ways than one, from staying connected to making trade and commerce easier through digital platforms to facilitating education and healthcare,” he added.
He said technology and innovation encompasses all spheres of life today.
“Like any other weapon, it (technology) is prone to misuse too. Therefore, it cannot remain immune from the unpredictability of geopolitics,” he said.
“The debate about the geopolitics of technology for this reason is not new and could be as old as technology itself,” Sandhu added. “In a sense, this debate could go back in the battles mentioned in the epics or wars mentioned in the history textbooks.”
The Ambassador further said that today, technology is also interlinked with the factor of trust.
“Technology is shared only with people whom you trust. Because countries, like individuals, also fear potential misuse or, more crudely put, there are fears of ceding their own power to others,” he added.
‘India, US trust each other on tech issues’
On the issue of India-US technological collaboration, Sandhu said the factor of trust has always been there.
“This has been a partnership in which technology and partnership have been the engine and fuel. This is a partnership which is critical for both countries … In the US, we see a close friend and partner who could make our journey faster and smoother,” he said.
“Technology and investments will remain critical in this regard … The US has equally benefited from Indian talent and enterprise,” he added.
Sandhu stressed on the fact that highly-skilled Indian professionals bring important skill sets to the US and add to the competitive edge of American tech firms.
He, however, said there are challenges to this technological partnership between New Delhi and Washington.
“In the ICT and digital space, India and the US have strong complementarities … Technology security, a significant part of which is cybersecurity, is critical to the national security of both our countries,” he emphasised. “The risks are well known given the intangible nature … Both India and the US have taken several significant steps in the recent past in critical digital infrastructure.”
ThePrint is a digital partner with Carnegie India for the Global Technology Summit 2020
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