India, the US and the European Union are teaming up to formulate a new set of cyber security guidelines.

Cyber security experts in the US and India said a recent bank fraud involving a few rogue employees at MphasiS — a business outsourcing outfit that provided services to Citibank — ought to serve as a wake-up call for the government and industry. But they allayed fears that the incident would lead to a loss of BPO business to India from the US.

The cyber security guidelines will make it harder for computer hackers to spirit away cash from Internet bank accounts, However, experts admit there will never be a fool-proof mechanism to ensure that your data is not misused by a rogue employee.

The experts said the government and the BPO sector will have to improve the cyber security systems, sensitise the legal set-up and incorporate high degree of screening parameters for employees.

Howard A Schmidt, president and CEO of R&H Security Consulting LLC and former special adviser for cyberspace security for the White House, said, “The incident at the call centre at Pune is an isolated case. Such cases are reported everyday from across the world, including the US. But, further occurrence may erode the confidence of American customers in India.”

“The US firms are not holding this incident against the Indian companies,” he said.

At present, US companies offer $9 billion business to the Indian BPO industry. About 70 per cent of BPO business in India is linked to the US.

Speaking at the Indo-US Cyber Security Forum’s legal seminar organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry, Vijay Nambiar, deputy national security adviser, said there was a need for a buildup of national capabilities as well as international cooperation to deal with the challenges posed by cyber space.

The Council of Europe has invited India and the US to join Cyber Crime Convention (CCC) for a multilateral treaty. The response from India is expected to be announced soon after a meeting with officials.

CCC will help combat cyber crime around the world. It respects the fundamental values of every country and provides the minimum framework to fight cyber crime.