AIIMS to have secure WiFi system across its campus

Six months after the massive cyber attack on AIIMS servers which threw all its online services off the track and led to possible leakage of sensitive data of thousands of patients, authorities have decided to set up a centralised and secure WiFi system across the campus.

It is also set to discontinue the practice of individual departments having their own wireless connectivity setups.

An office memorandum issued by director Prof M Srinivas said that currently only new buildings are WiFi enabled and the majority of the campus has very poor WiFi connectivity, which is causing great discomfort to patients, staff and visitors. Due to this various departments have set up their own WiFi networks to facilitate their day-to-day working and for academic purposes. Since it is not possible to monitor all networks on campus, a central network will be set up to ensure monitoring and to thwart cyber threats, it said.

To ensure rapid deployment of a secure campus-wide Wi-Fi network, a five-member committee headed by Prof Vivek Tandon from the department of neurosurgery has been constituted. Officials said that out of the six towers, two have already been installed with the systems, and the facility is likely to start next month.

The AIIMS administration had claimed to make its campus 5G-enabled by June 30. Officials said that strong 5G connectivity will help the institute implement e-Casualty and e-ICU solutions across its main and outreach campuses such as NCI Jhajjar, which will in turn enable senior faculty members to provide their expert advice during off-duty hours and vacations.