IT companies soft targets for terrorists: Home Secy

Source: TOP NEWS

Union Home Secretary G. K. Pillai on Wednesday warned that India’s software companies were most vulnerable to terror strikes, while nuclear installations and refineries still remained high on the target list of terror groups.
“We are world leaders in software. But software industry is high on the threat list,” Pillai said while addressing a conference on Challenge of Terrorism to India’s Infrastructure and Economy here.
The government, however, has taken serious measures to improve intelligence gathering mechanism in the past year, while security agencies have been successful in neutralising terrorist modules, he informed.
Pillai said the software industry is taking measures to protect itself. The government would also provide them support to deal with any such threat.
The country’s software exports jumped from Rs 28,350 crore in 2000-01 to around Rs 2,16,300 crore in 2008-09 despite the global slowdown.
On the intelligence inputs regarding threat to petroleum and nuclear installations on the western coast, the home secretary said, terrorists could attempt strikes on such installations from the sea route.
He said the government had put in place a multi-layered security system to protect the 7,500 km-long coastline. “We are trying to plug the loopholes in coastal security. No doubt it’s still vulnerable,” Pillai added.
The government, he said, was also taking all steps to deal with the Maoists. “Basic governance in Naxal area is more critical than anything else,” he added.