State use of intrusive surveillance tools must be lawful, says Keralam Home Minister Chennithala

Intrusive digital intelligence tools threatened not only individual privacy but also national security, Keralam Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said in Kochi on Friday (October 9), calling for safeguards, including strict legal and institutional oversight, against the technological challenges.

He was inaugurating c0c0n-2026, the annual cybersecurity conference, organised by Kerala Police in association with the Information Security Research Association.

Mr. Chennithala said that it must be ensured that the State uses intrusive surveillance tools that are lawful, necessary, and proportionate, with institutional oversight

“There are so many case studies in our day-to-day discussion about Pegasus, the Israeli digital intelligence firm using spyware. There are a lot of discussions on how it is operating even in the largest democratic country in the world, India,” Mr. Chennithala said.

The Home Minister also announced plans to revitalise Cyberdome, the Kerala Police’s public-private partnership initiative for cybersecurity.

T.V. Ravichandran, Deputy National Security Advisor to the Government of India, who chaired the inaugural meet, called for a shift from conventional cyber defence towards technological sovereignty and indigenous capabilities.

“National cybersecurity does not develop on software provided by foreigners. Building cybersecurity capacity associates standards, talent, technology, products, and sovereignty,” Mr. Ravichandran said.

Rise in cybersecurity incidents

Citing data from the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team, the senior officer said recorded cybersecurity incidents in the country rose to 29 lakh in 2025 from 20 lakh in 2024. He said “98% of cybersecurity issues and data breaches are traceable directly or indirectly to human errors.”

Addressing the gathering, State Bank of India Chairperson Challa Sreenivasulu Setty said the bank was able to prevent potential fraud losses of approximately ₹28,000 crore in the financial year 2025–26 ’s with its cybersecurity measures.

“In the financial year 2025–26 alone, our real-time rules helped save approximately ₹1,000 crore through the prevention of suspicious transactions, while transactions involving watch-listed accounts helped prevent potential losses of approximately ₹27,000 crore,” he said.

State Police Chief Ravada A. Chandrasekhar, Vigilance Director and c0c0n-2026 Co-Chairman Manoj Abraham; UAE Head of Cybersecurity Mohammad Al Kuwaiti; CERT-In Director General Sanjay Bahl; Oman National CERT Director General and RCC, C4IR Head Eng. Badar Al Salehi; Kelvin Lay, Director of the Technical Advisory Programme at Childlight - Global Child Safety Institute were among those who attended the inaugural event.

The two-day conference has drawn more than 2,500 delegates from 23 countries.