What is Cyber Shakti?

Cyber Shakti is an initiative that aims to provide essential skills and knowledge to navigate the digital landscape safely and effectively by women. It is an empowering initiative designed to enhance digital literacy and cyber security awareness among women groups including rural women entrepreneurs in India, particularly in the North East region. It aims to empower rural women entrepreneurs (RWEs) with the necessary tools to thrive in the digital age by enhancing their cyber security awareness and skills.

Cyber Shakti is an initiative by the Council for Social and Digital Development (CSDD) and North East Development Foundation, with the support of the Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) and in partnership with Women in Tech India (WIT) and Women in Tech North-East India Chapter and Audius India.

Why Cyber Shakti?

The Cyber Shakti initiative addresses the growing need for cyber security awareness and digital empowerment among rural women entrepreneurs. As digital technology becomes increasingly integral to business operations, the risk of cyber threats also escalates. The program recognizes the growing importance of digital technology for businesses and the need for RWEs(Rural women entrepreneurs) to be equipped to navigate the online world safely. By providing training on cyber security, Cyber Shakti seeks to bridge the digital divide and empower RWEs to:

  • Use technology for business growth
  • Protect their ventures from cyber risks
  • Conduct secure online transactions

The Plan

The initiative plans to achieve its goals through a series of workshops and capacity-building sessions. These sessions will equip RWEs with the essential knowledge and skills for:

  • Basic Cyber Security: Understanding online threats, safe internet practices, and protecting personal information.
  • Advanced Cyber Security: Techniques for securing online transactions, safeguarding sensitive business data, and mitigating cyber risks.
  • Digital Empowerment: Leveraging digital tools for business growth, enhancing online presence, and utilizing social media for marketing.

The Roll Out

The Cyber Shakti initiative kicked off its first workshop on May 25, 2024, in Guwahati, Assam, in collaboration with key partners – Digital Empowerment Foundation, Women in Tech India (WIT), Women in Tech North-East India Chapter, Audius India, and the North East Development Foundation (NEDF). The workshop, titled “Program Cyber Shakti: Safe Internet Practices for Rural Women Entrepreneurs,” trained 25 RWEs women business intermediaries on cyber security basics and advanced aspects. These participants will further train 10,000 rural women entrepreneurs on the ground from June onwards.

First Workshop Press Release

Organizers

  • Council for Social and Digital Development (CSDD): A policy and action-based think tank working on social and digital development challenges in North East India.
  • North East Development Foundation (NEDF): A sustainable development organization working towards inclusive development in the North East region of India.
  • Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF): An ICT for development implementation agency working on digital access and empowerment since 2002.
  • Women in Tech India North East Chapter (WIT NE): A non-profit focused on bridging the gender gap in technology and empowering women. WIT NE aims to strengthen digital literacy and cybersecurity awareness among girls and women, particularly those from rural and underrepresented communities.
  • Audius India Private Limited: A leading medium-sized IT and software company.

Cyber Awareness, Reporting and Cyber Swachhta Kendra

  • National Cyber Crime Reporting portal is an initiative of Government of India to facilitate victims/complainants to report cyber crime complaints online. This portal caters to complaints pertaining to cyber crimes only with special focus on cyber crimes against women and children. Complaints reported on this portal are dealt by law enforcement agencies/ police based on the information available in the complaints. It is imperative to provide correct and accurate details while filing complaint for prompt action.
    1. Please contact local police in case of an emergency or for reporting crimes other than cyber crimes.
    2. National police helpline number is 112.
    3. National women helpline number is 181
    4. Cyber Crime Helpline is 1930.
    5. Various Internet safety tips and cyber awareness tips are also available on the portal. For more information, please click this link.
  • Cyber Swachhta Kendra is a Botnet Cleaning and Malware Analysis Centre which envisages creating a secure cyber eco system in the country. It can provide tools to remove the malware, bot ware, mobile security applications, current security threats and cyber security best practices. For more information, please click this link.
  • Govt of India has started Stay Safe Online Campaign which has:-
    1. Competitions for all age groups, covering rural and urban areas, with special emphasis on children, students, women, teachers, faculty, senior citizens, specially-abled persons, officials of Central & State Governments etc. are invited to participate in the Stay Safe Online campaign. For more information, please click this link.
    2. Short videos for Cyber Security Awareness with an objective to elucidate the importance of cyber security and ensure that all individuals and organizations have the information they need to be safer and more secure while online. For more information, please click this link.

Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has started InfoSec Awareness through various workshops and trainings to make citizens aware about internet ethics, online frauds, etc. For more information, please click this link.