Indian Terror Attack Wake-Up Call For IT FirmsIndian Terror Attack Wake-Up Call For IT Firms

BANGALORE, India — The alleged terror attack on the Indian Institute of Science here, which sent shock waves throughout the city, is a wake-up call for India, according to officials.

As reported, a professor was killed and several others were wounded at a science conference in Bangalore on Wednesday (Dec. 28) by a gunman with possible ties to a terrorist group, according to police.

Bangalore is now in the state of high alert. Hyderabad, Chennai and other cities in India, which also house a reasonable number of hardware and software firms, are also improving their security arrangements.

“This has awakened Bangalore, considered as one of the peaceful cities of the country,’ said Anant R. Koppar, president of the Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

The National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) has condemned the attack, calling it cowardly. “We will work with the government on what additional steps need to be taken,” said its president, Kiran Karnik.

Bangalore, which houses over a thousand hardware and software development firms, is said to be on the radar map for terrorists, experts said. In March, police in the Indian capital of New Delhi shot and killed three terrorists who they said had targeted software firms in Bangalore.

Until now, the police have not directly blamed any group for the Bangalore attack, although they do not rule out the possibility of well-known terrorist groups having a role in it. The Karnataka government, of which state Bangalore is the capital, had been warned of the possibility of terrorism, but clearly no one expected this particular attack.