NSDMA conducts mock drill on cyber attack

KOHIMA — In a first of its kind, the Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority (NSDMA), in collaboration with the directorate of IT&C and line departments, conducted a mock drill exercise in Kohima on Tuesday.

The mock drill was conducted in order to test the capability of the state to tackle any eventuality of digital attack and data break. The civil secretariat was earmarked as the staging area, while IT&C, State Data Center, NIC/ SWAN/ BSNL (Secretariat), SymBios Creation and SEOC were designated as the incidents sites.

The observers involved during the event included Peter Konyak, lecturer at ATI; Wekulhi Lohe, specialist of IT Monitoring and Evaluation; A Morimenba Amer, joint director of NEILIT; Titus Sekho Dingthoi, inspector of NDRF; Mulai Lamniah, staff officer of HGs, CD and SDRF; and W Limhathung Odyuo, inspector of NDRF.

During the debriefing at the Secretariat conference hall, observers expressed satisfaction that the experience they underwent during the mock drill was enriching. They also suggested various inputs to improve the radio communication system during the next exercise and for preparedness to address issues in the event of any cyber intrusion or service disruption taking place.

Z Nyusietho Nyuethe, advisor of NSDMA and NRE, reminded on the need to have good coordination in the event of any disaster or IT black out from a cyber attack.

“A person may be very knowledgeable, however, without good teamwork, there will be no positive outcome while handling problems,” he said.

Nyuethe has called upon the young minds to have a good presence of mind to act in times of need accordingly.

Johnny Ruangmei, joint CEO of NSDMA, apprised that they would review the necessary inputs and observations put forward to them by observers and conduct similar mock drills again as and when needs arise.

Stating that as far as “disaster” is concerned, it is not a matter of “if” but a question of “when,” he said such catastrophe may occur any time and accordingly, any cyber attack or IT blackout may arise without warning.

Realising this, Ruangmei said they felt the need to conduct the event to test their capacity to address issues in the eventuality of such development.

Lhouchalie Viya, commissioner and secretary of NSDMA; Mhapemo Tungoie, AGM (OP) BSNL; and Kewizun Zeliang, additional superintendent of police (Communication) also spoke during the programme.