by Web Admin | My View
It is time the government did something to enhance the level of information exchange and co-ordination among the various agencies that are involved in information security, cyber crime prevention, investigation and other related areas. At the apex level at the Government of India, say the PM’s office or some such higher level, there must be a common repository of cyber crime related information, from which authentic data can be taken by all the stake holders say the state police department, Intelligence Wings of various state police, Crime Branch sleuths and others. This may be monitored, controlled and checked for any possible misuse.
Quite often there is a big hue and cry that Sec 66A of the IT Act should be repealed. There is a writ petition in the Madras High Court on this. Some people are always of the opinion and vehemently too, that individual privacy, liberty and freedom of opinion and expression is supreme. Let it not be mistaken that even the constitution-protected individual rights to life and liberty and expression is always with reasonable restrictions, as interpreted in many judgements. Individual right of expression should never be above the national interest. When the nation’s supremacy is questioned or the national sovereignty is sought to be impacted, there is no question of individual right of expression or freedom. Under such circumstances, it is not the right but the duty of the powers that be to protect communal harmony even at the cost of curbing individual right to freedom.
Views on Blocking of websites and monitoring of SMS appeared in “The Hindu” 29 Aug 2012. Click for the news item
by Web Admin | My View
In response to a Public Interest Litigation filed in the Supreme Court of India, the Government recently submitted an affidavit wherein, as reported in the Press on 28 Aug 2014, the government has stated that ‘it is impossible to block the pornographic websites in the Internet and if one website is blocked, hundred sites come up’. It sounds as though, the problem cannot be solved. In fact, this problem has a techno-legal solution. Technologically it is possible like having a national level firewall, web-filters, content monitors etc (and in the long run going for an Indian operating systems for computers, our own anti virus, indigenous firewall and above all, our own servers to host) and legally it is feasible to have control over such websites and take speedier action in blocking that would serve as a deterrent to many more coming up. While it is true that the government cannot be expected to take care of all security initiatives like blocking pornographic websites etc , it cannot be digested that the government cannot wash its hands off, saying that there is no solution to the problem.
Without going into the wider ramifications of the issue and the technical feasibility and legal remedies available, let us look at the issue from a citizen’s perspective. From a social angle, it is the duty of Internet users especially the elders and parents to have watch on the websites their siblings visit, to ensure that the computer systems are kept in the open halls wherein the parents too can look at the monitors and have constant interaction with the children on their likes and dislikes in the Internet. Technologically, initiatives like child-lock URL filters, web-filters, PC fire-walls with content filtering etc can be put in place.
by Web Admin | My View
Hacking all of us know is an offense punishable by law, since by the very definition and meaning is involved accessing the computer resources of somebody else, then how can there be something called ethical hacking?
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My views about the Supreme Court Judgement on 24 March holding the Section 66A of the IT Amendment Act 2008 as ‘unconstitutional’ is that a powerful tool in the hands of cyber crime sleuths has now been lost. Read on for the full story…
Absence of Moral Education or a session for Ethical Values in the time-table especially in Secondary or Higher Secondary Level takes its toll. Students and the educational institutions in general these days are particular about more and more marks, which alone has become the criterion. Bringing up culturally well-behaved, ethically stronger and well-behaved youth is not in the agenda of educational institutions. This was the crux of my interview on being questioned why the number of graduates (ie educated ones) is on the increase among convicts this year. Excerpts from the Indian Express dated 1 Nov 2014.
Of late, fraudsters innovate in learning about technology and finding newer techniques in committing crimes. It is difficult for the investigating agencies to keep pace with them and learn the same at the same pace and of course, equally difficult for the victims, for the legal fraternity and the judiciary who are all the other stake holders in crime investigation. Among the latest is IMEI Number faking in mobile handsets with a view to make them untraceable. Such faking (as a hardware chip-level embedded technology) is certainly an offence, no doubt. Times of India carried an interesting story on this. Click to view My interview in Times of India 7 Nov 2014.
It is heartening to read that the National Cyber Security Co-ordination Centre will be in place shortly. An apex level Monitoring Agency with all information! Oh, this has been the dream of every concerned Indian. Security professionals in India have often felt that cyber security has not been given the due place it deserves.
There are agencies, ministries, departments and government bodies (like NTRO, CBI, State Police departments, IB, RAW, Intelligence, Defence and Home Minsitries besides the PMO itself) who often acquire lots of critical information on cyber security of national importance (sometimes from across the cyber boundaries and often from within the nation itself). Cyber Criminals take advantage of the disconnect and the absence of sharing of critical information among these departments. It is already late. As top priority, at the apex level this NCSC should be in place with some sort of control at least for sharing of information among all the stake holders including the state police and all investigating agencies.14 Sep 2014.
by Web Admin | My View
Data these days is always on the moves when a data just transmitted across the various systems and gadgets and a network what are the security concerns?
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by Web Admin | My View
Of late, we have been reading much about banks consolidation and bank mergers. Which is a debatable point whether consolidation of many banks in a limited number of huge banks win altimetry befit the public or the government.
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