Indian IT firms rushing to adopt security practices
Tuesday, 03 August 2004, 19:30 IST
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NEW DELHI : With overseas clients increasingly getting edgy about data security and privacy breaches, Indian IT services and outsourcing companies are rushing to adopt robust information security practices. According to an IT industry study report, Indian technology companies are fast realising the importance of adhering to global security standards that cover all areas of operations. "Indian companies have robust security practices comparable to those followed by Western countries," said the study conducted by the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom). "Spending on security ranges from five to 15 percent of the total IT budget of the companies," stated the report made available to IANS. It added that the firms adhere to global standards such as the BS 7799 for information security. Companies that comply with the BS 7799 standard ensure protection in the areas of usage policy, information classification policy, mobile computing policy, risk management policy and third party access policy. Workers' unions in the US and Britain, who protest shipping of financials and other jobs to India, allege that outsourcing companies in the country don't have a robust information security backbone to ensure safety of the data. Companies in the US and Britain are also becoming increasingly sensitive about the protection of personal data transferred to low cost destinations like India for processing. To address the concerns of its overseas clients, Indian IT services and outsourcing services companies are stepping up overall security measures. "Indian vendors normally sign Services Level Agreements that have very strict confidentiality and security clauses built into them at the network and data levels," said the Nasscom report. "Such agreements also cover all relevant laws that customer companies want the offshore services provider to comply with and the actions that can be taken in cases of breaches." India's vast pool of an English-speaking workforce, coupled with its educational system and training programmes, has helped transform the country into a global outsourcing superpower. The rapidly growing IT industry has virtually turned India into an electronic housekeeper to the world, taking care of a host of routine activities for multinational giants. "Overseas companies are quite comfortable with the existing information security scenario in India," said the Nasscom report. "They have rarely faced any issues related to data security, data protection, or confidentiality while off-shoring work to India," it added. The lobby group said India had a strong regulatory environment, covered by laws such as the IT Act 2000, the Indian Copyright Act, and the Indian Contract Act 1972, to safeguard the interests of companies off-shoring work.
Source: IANS
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