Commissioner & Secretary IT&C and State CISO, Arenla Jamir with officials and participants during the state consultative workshop on ‘strengthening cybersecurity frameworks for state data’ held in Kohima on June 17. (DIPR Photo)
Nagaland holds state-level workshop on Cybersecurity framework
Kohima, June 17 (MExN): A one-day state consultative workshop on ‘strengthening cybersecurity frameworks for state data’ was held on Wednesday, with officials emphasising that cybersecurity is no longer the sole responsibility of the IT department but a shared duty requiring awareness and commitment from all government offices handling digital information.
The workshop, organised at the Directorate of Information Technology & Communication (IT&C), Kohima was chaired by Commissioner & Secretary IT&C and State CISO, Arenla Jamir, who in her keynote address noted that while Nagaland has made significant progress in digital governance, the state still has much ground to cover in expanding digital services.
As per the DIPR report, Jamir pointed out that initiatives such as CMHIS, CM Alliance Online Scholarship, PIMS, and e-Treasury have greatly transformed governance delivery, enabling citizens across districts to access many government services that once required a physical visit to departments.
Emphasising that digital transformation has improved service delivery and administrative efficiency, she cautioned that it has also increased risks associated with protecting sensitive data. “Cybersecurity is no longer the sole responsibility of the IT department, but it is also one’s share of responsibility that requires awareness, preparedness and commitment from all government offices and employees who handle digital information,” she said.
Jamir disclosed that during the 5th National Conference of Chief Secretaries held in December 2025, the Prime Minister directed every state to assess its cybersecurity readiness and contribute to the development of the National Law. As a follow-up, Stage One and Stage Two National Consultative Workshops with IT Secretaries from 36 states have already been conducted.
She said the participation and suggestions from Tuesday’s Stage Three State Level Workshop would play a vital role in formulating recommendations to be submitted to the Central Ministry, which would be translated into resources and policy decisions benefiting the state. “Since the outcome of this workshop will directly contribute to framing a National Policy that will be tabled before the Capital Simulator during August 2026,” she urged all participants to actively engage and provide honest feedback based on ground realities.
Senior TD & SIO, NIC Nagaland, Er I Lanusungkum Aier, while sharing NIC’s experience with the District Information System, stressed that only necessary information should be collected from beneficiaries with their consent, and that departmental data should match for easy analysis.
Cautioning on the use of artificial intelligence, he said that while AI makes life easier, the information it provides may not always be accurate. “One needs to have keen, accurate and clean data so that artificial intelligence will be able to analyse it accurately. Artificial intelligence plays two sides of the problem—it either creates a lot of partnership with hackers or with people who snack information,” he added.
He called for a common data-sharing approach and appealed to all departments to collaborate, as information needed by one department may already be available with another, or solutions to issues may have already been found elsewhere.
In his welcome address, Director IT&C and Deputy CISO, Er Sabou Yashu, said that in the digital system, data security is becoming increasingly critical. With the Government of India’s initiative, the National Summit proposed organising state-level workshops inviting all stakeholders and development partners to deliberate and come up with a framework to institutionalise data protection. “Since departments are delivering services to citizens based on real data in real time, accurate and secure details are required to deliver right information to the citizens,” he said.
He encouraged participants to share their experiences and inputs that would go a long way in protecting infrastructure, data, and systems.
Deputy General Manager, CB, NeGD, MeitY Pooja Kandpal briefed virtually on the National Overview, while Deputy Director, IT&C Er Daniel Krocha presented the Core Accountability Mandates.
The workshop, attended by representatives from various government departments, administrations, technical sectors, and law enforcement agencies, concluded with a vote of thanks by Additional Director, IT&C, Er Asono Mor.
