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NEW DELHI : With India’s public services, examinations and welfare systems moving deeper into digital platforms, the Centre has said cybersecurity is now among its “highest priority” areas, even as officials cautioned that no digital system can be declared permanently secure.The word of caution comes against the backdrop of recent cyber concerns around public digital assets and govt’s temporary action against Telegram during the NEET-UG reexamination, when the platform was restricted and its message-editing feature was disabled for a limited period to prevent fraudsters from fabricating paper leak claims.“When you have so much digital infrastructure, data gets centralised and the risk of disruption through cyberattacks also rises,” a govt official said. Cybersecurity had to be built into systems from the design stage and could not be treated as an afterthought, the official added.Govt also indicated that messaging platforms would be held responsible if new features created room for fraud. Asked about security concerns over WhatsApp’s proposed username feature, an official said, “It is WhatsApp that has to worry, not us.”Officials said any misuse, whether through usernames, edited messages, fake groups or impersonation, would invite action similar to that taken against Telegram during NEET. “Platforms must ensure their architecture is not used to create mischief. If it is, the response will be calibrated but firm,” an official said.A WhatsApp spokesperson said the proposed username feature is designed to enhance privacy, not reduce security. The company said it has built safeguards to detect impersonation and abuse, limits how many new people an account can contact through usernames, blocks repeated attempts to guess usernames, and reserves high-value usernames, including those of public figures, govt entities and celebrities, to prevent misuse.Govt officials, however, said platforms would be judged by outcomes, not assurances.MeitY officials said govt is deploying both human and technological resources to address cyber vulnerabilities but stressed that weak passwords, careless device use and poor endpoint security remain major risks.“I will never say we are 100% cyber secure. This is something against which we have to be eternally vigilant,” a senior official said.
