Indian Agency to Enforce Outsourced Data Security

Several instances of data theft in the past few years have led India into polishing its outsourcing image with a new regulatory body whose goal is to improve security for the country's offshore IT services and business process outsourcing (BPO) clients.

The idea behind the agency is to ease fears about Indian data security and promote the region as the safest place for IT services and BPO in light of rising competition from other offshoring locations.

Silicon.com reported that the body will set privacy and security standards and monitor its members to ensure they are following them. Punishment for breaches may include expelling the guilty members or turning them over to law enforcement. The organization also will offer training to companies that need support to comply with the security standards.

Indian IT trade association Nasscom has invested more than a year and $300,000 to launch the agency. When a chief executive officer (CEO) is hired, the regulatory body will be separate from Nasscom and be supervised by the CEO and a board of members from across the industry. It will be funded by membership fees and will be open to any international companies. Nasscom officials said many of Nasscom's 1,050 members will want to join because membership may provide an advantage in winning offshoring business.

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