To protect  strategic and sensitive data on the Gati Shakti National Master Plan portal, the government has decided not to allow the private sector and  individuals access to the platform at the moment, officials have said.

“Access is only being extended to identified nodal officers of  various departments of the Central government and States and certain public sector undertakings that are mostly in infrastructure sector. The private sector is not being allowed access,” an official tracking the matter told businessline

Moreover, certain data of strategic importance, such as data related to defence establishments , law enforcement agencies and intelligence agencies, have not been made open yet, the source added.

Cautious approach

Although the government was working on a protocol and facilitation mechanism for private sector participation in Gati Shakti, things would not be done in a hurry, the official said.

“It has to be ensured that the system is water-tight and there are no chances of data leak before the system can be opened to the private sector. Acting in a hurry and regretting at leisure is not something that the country can afford,” the official added.

The PM Gati Shakti - National Master Plan for Multi-modal Connectivity, a digital platform to bring 16 Ministries, including Railways and Roads, together for integrated planning and coordinated implementation of infrastructure connectivity projects was launched in October 2021.

However, providing the entire data at one place, with GIS-based spatial planning and analytical tools having over 200 layers, also makes it vulnerable to breach.

Restricted access

“Some of the data being uploaded is highly sensitive such as under ground pipelines carrying petroleum products and GIS coordinates. Any adversary, if they have access to the coordinates, an precisely target the assets. That is why it has been decided to make the system very secure by giving access to just select authorised individuals and keeping the private sector out at the moment,” the official said.

The authorised nodal government officials who are accessing the portal have been given password protected log-ins with a two factor authentication process. 

“Since the authorised users, once they log into the system, can view the entire set of data without exceptions, sensitive data in areas such as defence establishments, law enforcement agencies and intelligence agencies, is not being made open, at least for the moment,” the official added.

With the recent cyber attack on India’s top medical institute, AIIMS, bringing work to a grinding halt and reportedly leading to the breach of medical data of approximately 30-40 million patients, the focus right now is prominently on the security of data shared on various platforms.

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