The Centre is considering a new legal framework to address emerging cybersecurity challenges and opportunities, Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Friday, underscoring the need for closer coordination between government and industry.
Speaking at the India AI Summit 2026, Vaishnaw made the remarks while unveiling the AI and Cyber Threat Research Center, set up by Bharti Airtel and Zscaler.
“We also have to create a new legal framework for cybersecurity with all these challenges that we are facing today and the new opportunities that we have. The time has come when we, as a government and industry, need to align together to handle these threats,” the minister said.
He urged IT and telecom firms to seriously evaluate evolving forms of cyber threats and build stronger safeguards in view of the expanding digital ecosystem.
At the launch, Airtel Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal described the centre as a multi-stakeholder initiative under the corporate social responsibility efforts of Airtel and Zscaler.
Also read: 10 Cong workers detained for staging protest at AI Impact Summit
“This is not a commercial venture. But Zscaler and Airtel are committed to funding this whole initiative to kick off. I'm sure more and more people will join. We have already received interest from many other enterprises in our country. It's more in the area of philanthropy or CSR that we do from Airtel's side and Zscaler from their side,” Mittal said.
Zscaler CEO, Chairman and Founder Jay Chaudhry said the centre would focus on safeguarding critical infrastructure in India.
“So, when you think about threats that are targeted at India, it's very easy to guess where they're coming from. My number one source has been Pakistan. Especially, when Operation Sindoor happened, there were tonnes of activities that were picked up,” Chaudhry said.
He cited instances of fake blackout rehearsal documents embedded with malware and phishing attempts involving job advertisements. “We saw about 1.2 million brute force attempts trying to break into passwords to get into people's accounts,” he added.
The initiative comes amid growing concerns over cyber espionage, misinformation and attacks targeting key digital infrastructure.
Follow us
