Friday, November 23, 2012

Indian Cyber Security: Are We Secured Enough?

With the day by day progression in the sphere of information technology the world is now more strongly interconnected. The information and communication technology (ICT) has also become an important part of many business organisations. In this current era of technical advancement even the critical infrastructure of many countries is intensely reliant upon the ICT.  Use of ICT has also given rise to new “functionality risks or flaws”. Naturally the first question that comes to our minds is “is India secured enough?”

The increased use of Internet, laptops, mobiles, etc have made our lives more comfortable but they have also given rise to evils like hacking, theft of data and malware attacks. Cyber security breaches are on the rise and without reasonable governmental intervention through rules, responsibilities and formal procedures, any information security framework cannot prove effective.

Broadly speaking, homeland security is significant to the overall security of any nation. Recent terror attacks and other security concerns pertaining to international law and order situation have prompted many countries to focus on the modernisation and up gradation of their security infrastructures. Some summits and conferences have also been conducted in this regard at national and international levels.

No nation can fight cyber crime or secure its cyberspace in isolation and there is an urgent need to work on agreements on international standards. Even there is no universally acceptable international cyber law treaty and international cyber security treaty.

We must stress upon Acceptable International ICT Policies and Strategies while keeping in mind the Golden Principle that National Security and Human Rights Must Be Reconciled in India and World wide, opines Praveen Dalal managing partner of Perry4Law and CEO of PTLB.

The World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT), to be held in December 2012 at Dubai, will attempt to revise international telecommunication regulations, which have not been updated since 1988. However, international telecommunications regulations (ITRS) and Indian response in this regard are not in the right direction.

Important issues like Cyber Security, Cyber Forensics, E-Surveillance, Human Rights Protection in Cyberspace, International Cyber Crime Investigation Cooperation, etc must be essential part of the proposed ITRs, suggest Dalal. A Comprehensive and Holistic Cyber Security Strategy of India must be immediately implemented in India.

In the absence of actual and practical efforts in the direction of ensuring cyber security in India, mere conferences and policy formulation would not bring desired results. Of course, real and effective techno legal cyber security initiatives of India by Perry4Law and PTLB like National Cyber Security Database of India (NCSDI), Cyber Security Research and Development Centre of India (CSRDCI), Cyber Forensics Research And Development Centre Of India, Cyber Crimes Investigation Centre Of India, etc can be really helpful in bringing ground level and actual cyber security improvement and strengthening efforts in India.

Let us hope that India would move forward from mere declaration and conferences to actual and ground level works.