Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Shillong: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma warned on August 28 that no cybersecurity system stays immune to attack. He addressed the state Assembly regarding mounting threats from artificial intelligence, financial fraud, and digital crime. The discussion followed a cut motion from Leader of Opposition Mukul Sangma. The government is now upgrading hardware and software protections to counter these risks.
Mukul Sangma highlighted the vulnerability of technology. He pointed to the 2024 pager explosions in Israel to show how hardware can turn into a weapon. He argued for intense scrutiny when the state buys new equipment. "Whether it is software or hardware, there are challenges," he said during the debate. Criminals now use sophisticated methods to exploit systems.
Conrad Sangma admitted that cybersecurity is a constant battle. Artificial intelligence creates fresh, unpredictable dangers every day. To combat this, the administration is currently mapping and verifying every staff member who handles sensitive data. The state wants to ensure only trusted personnel run critical systems.
Cyber threats now impact every nation. "Attacks happening at the national level are not military, but are through different media, online systems, finance and banking," Conrad Sangma noted. After the Chief Minister detailed these defense measures, Mukul Sangma withdrew his motion.
Updated at 29th August 2026 at 2:00am
The legislative debate centered on the state government's push to establish a disaster recovery site for the Finance Department, a move backed by the Information Technology and Communications Department. This initiative specifically targets the security of e-billing, e-vouchering, e-office, and e-sanction systems. The current funding push also covers the procurement of hardware including new desktop computers, printers, and scanners across various departments.
Mukul Sangma pushed for deeper background checks on third party staff hired by service providers to manage these networks. He noted that the state previously employed similar vetting protocols for internal security matters through the Special Investigation Unit. He warned that procurement officers must account for the increasingly twisted methods used by criminals to compromise hardware during the manufacturing or supply chain phase.
Comments