First Private Firm in the country to conduct IT Security Audit for government
 

Hyderabad : HCL Comnet, India’s leading IT Services Management firm, has bagged an order from the Government of Andhra Pradesh (GOAP) to conduct and implement an end-to-end security audit for the state’s IT infrastructure - AP State Wide Area Network (APSWAN) and AP Secretariat Campus Area Network (APSCAN). The audit would also encompass critical applications like SKIMS (Secretariat Knowledge Information Management system) and REINS.

HCL Comnet won this order against leading consulting firms, in a bid open to private firms for security audit, the first time in the country.

Starting July 2002, the project entails a three-month audit of select IT infrastructure for key departments in the state Secretariat, two state government bodies - Andhra Pradesh Technology Services (APTS) and Directorate of Treasury and Accounts - and a district Collectorate. Based on the audit report, HCL Comnet will implement and suggest security improvements in the network.

On winning the order, Swapan Johri, Business Head Security & Networking said, Globally, security services market and product market are in an equilibrium. In India, however, security industry is more products focused rather than service oriented. It is surprising that a government body has challenged traditional norm and recognized the need for combining technology with processes. Conducting a security audit becomes imperative because it covers the need-gap analysis before the actual deployment.

According to Suresh Chanda, MD, APTS,The company would be expected to conduct security audit of software and hardware of APSWAN and APSCAN, prepare a draft security policy for the existing and future IT infrastructure, recommend shortcomings and strengths of the infrastructure, and prepare a draft implementation model for security policy. It is imperative to secure any network and the applications running on it which enable secure and reliable transactions. The security audit will help secure Andhra Pradesh Govt’s IT infrastructure, augment the functioning and also assist in assessing the strengths and gaps in the security mechanism and accordingly make subsequent improvisations.

Johri added, Another approach that companies normally take is to entrust security audits to business consultants. But being a specialized area, the technology knowledgebase is an essential. Bagging this order against five leading IT Security Consulting firms reinforces our expertise in both processes and technology. A big achievement, we feel honoured by the faith reposed in us by the state government. This will pave way for other governments to seek expert Security consultancy to secure their networks and enhance the performance.

Government of Andhra Pradesh, over the past few years has developed vast IT infrastructure to enable use of IT for e Governance in its all activities, which the government has embarked upon. The APSWAN which connects Secretariat at Hyderabad with all the 23 District HQs, Tirupathi and Vijayawada with 2 MBPS link for Data, Voice and Video is one of the major IT infrastructure. APSCAN at Secretariat connects 2000 nodes on ATM based LAN with bandwidth varying from 10MBPS to 622 MBPS. Application development for workflow automation of all the activities at the ecretariat is at an advanced stage of completion. It is planned that all day to day activities at Secretariat and other offices will take place through the use of IT for bringing revolutionary change, the way Govt. conducts its internal transactions and extends services to citizens.

HCL Comnet, with diverse experience in the security arena has already conducted security audits for more than 40 Indian corporates. With more than 400 satisfied customers, HCL Comnet has established itself as the most credible name in the security services domain in India. The company’s e-Secure division, a pioneer in network security solutions in India, offers end-to-end security solutions that ensure complete enterprise wide security using evolved strong internal
processes that encompass a wide range of issues and security related concerns, including confidentiality and legal frameworks. Further, with its state-of-the-art Security Operations Center (iSOC) HCL Comnet delivers remote security monitoring and management to offer 24x7 availability of skilled resources to secure its customers’ IT infrastructure.

August' 2002
Reachout's News Bureau

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