India gets offshore cyber crime watchdog

Shyamal Ghosh, chairman of the DSCI, said the board and structure of the organisation should be in place by the end of next month.

He told silicon.com: "The industry felt it is better to have self-regulation because it moves so fast. It will be an independent organisation at arm's length from Nasscom."

The DSCI will develop common minimum standards for privacy and security policies, offer certification, enforce a code of ethics and best practice, and punish any breaches by Indian IT and BPO companies - which could include expelling members or calling in police.

Nandkumar Saravade, director cyber-security and compliance for Nasscom, said the DSCI will help improve security standards across the vast number of companies below the big top-tier outsourcers such as Infosys, TCS and Wipro.

He told silicon.com: "The aim is to lift the floor of the Indian IT and BPO companies because the top companies already have best practice."

The data security body is just one of Nasscom's initiatives to address international concerns about India's reputation for data security. Another key strand is the National Skills Registry (NSR), which is a centralised database of third-party verified personal and professional details of IT and BPO employees that allows employers to vet staff they are recruiting.

Nasscom said the NSR is used by 40 of India's IT companies and now has 100,000 employees registered on it, with half of those verified and their biometric details recorded.

Nasscom has also helped with the setting up of local cyber crime police labs in five of India's tech hotspots.