Ravi V S Prasad analysed Cyber security threats, from international aspect.

Several militant organizations were early adopters of new communication technologies for propaganda warfare and for efficient communications, before we framed the word cyber terrorism.

Stealing information, hacking govt websites, planting their own propaganda started later. Cyber warfare and Cyber Terrorism are converging now. CCCI (Command Control, Communications and Intelligence) is now CCCI (Command Control, Communications and Computer Intelligence)

1991 Gulf war was the first incident where Cyber warfare was used very effectively, next was by China to invade Taiwan, to disrupt command and control systems of enemy defence facilities (warships and air force) so that they won’t be able to offer enough resistance.

Diplomatic warfare aims to immobilize state’s infrastructure. This is where Cyber terrorism is heading at. Kill with a borrowed sword- routed through servers of foreign countries, making it very difficult to trace it back to original source.

Protection of critical infrastructure again depends on technology and communication. Stock exchanges, banks, power grids and many other facilities are prone to cyber threats. We need to be prepared for such threats and also be sure to counter Cyber Espionage by both friendly countries and potential threats.

An international legal frame needs to be in place to evaluate the cyber threats and plan counter measure. Opening the discussion to panel for further thoughts on this

Amitabh Singhal, the last member of the panel (of session 2), made a great cameo considering that he was a late un-announced addition to the panel, and his thoughts were, candidly, extempore.

Amitabh harked back to the days way back to circa 1994, when he worked with Mr. R. Ramaraj, now of iCANN, also the moderator of the session. He recalled how, when as one of just 4-5 vendors applying for license to be email providers for the average citizen, was mandated by the government that they will use 40-bit encryption, and that kind of regime continued for a long time, way past the time that the Western world had moved away from public-key based means of securing access, as it was realized that it was an unreliable method.

Even later, around the year 2000, Amitabh mentioned of the time we were connecting digitally whole-heatedly with the outside world, a team of Israeli consultants who were working on a brief to validate the security scenario demonstrated their ability to replicate chat sessions that had taken place 6 months prior, with all its content, participant details, and interaction.

Amitabh mentioned that it is due to the inherent “open” nature of the internet that security will always be a concern and area of focus. Now with the proliferation of use of social networking, which he stressed, need to be looked at as the source or domain of new forms of cyber-attacks. In closing,

Amitabh ended by saying that both telecom carriers as well as content providers have their responsibilities in this regard, the expensive aspect of  monitoring systems notwithstanding.

Shyamal Ghosh is Chairman, DSCI and also an Independent Expert for ICT related promotional and regulatory matters and management consultant.

Mr. Shyamal Ghosh belonged to the Indian Administrative Service (Gujarat Cadre1965 batch). He was the Chairman of Telecom Commission & Secretary, Department of Telecommunications, Government of India from 7th February, 2000 to 31st May, 2002 when he retired from Civil Service. He was Administrator, Universal Service Obligation Fund, Department of Telecommunications during May 2002 to May 2005. He is at present Chairman of the Data Security Council of India, a Self Regulatory Organization promoted by NASSCOM.

Here’re excerpts from Shyamal’s talk on Balancing Security and Rights of the Citizen, wherein he set the stage for panel discussion, giving an overview of what all constitute privacy…

Security and Rights of citizen is an important topic that needs to be debated extensively…

Privacy is a cultural issue. What is private in west may not be so in India and vice versa. India is more open society unlike in Europe where all PII (personally identifiable information) is treated private.

Individual privacy is different from community privacy.

Political orientations, religious beliefs, personal activity details, financial data are some of the issues which are believed to be private. Details of top 10 tax payers are announced. Isn’t it a privacy issue? Online advertising is customized to the extent possible. Medical information are again sensitive.

Section 43A of amended IT act 2008 refers to sensitive personal information that needs to be protected. The more Information Technology is used, more intrusive it becomes. Emerging technologies become challenge to those trying use technology but at the same time defend their interests.

Cyber stalking, hacking, Nigerian spams and the phenomenon of social network opens whole new level of security issues.

At the corporate levels, they need to comply with regulatory requirements, defend their service, data from DOS and other attacks. Privacy, security and RTI ultimately boils down to people, process and technology.

Is CCTV intrusive? Some companies put restrictions on employees in the name of security. Is UID is an intrusion to security? These are few of the issues we’ll try to debate over the session and find some insights.

Session 3 will focus on the topic: Balancing Security and Rights of the Citizen

How can the rights and privacy of citizens be safeguarded while upholding the Larger issue of National security. Freedom and Security are a balancing act where the Govt needs to work with the citizens to achieve the higher goals of a secure society. How well do the security forces implement existing laws addressing citizens constitutional rights?

• Privacy, Enforcement, and National Security
• Safeguarding the constitutional rights of individuals
• Assure trust in and simplify the basic system for overseeing protective security services.
• Protection of Privacy
• Freedom of expression versus maintenance of law and order

1415-1425 hrs : Session Chair: Shyamal Ghosh, Chairman, DSCI

1425-1505 hrs : Address by :

Manoj Mitta, Senior Editor, Times of India.
Meenakshi Arora, Advocate, Supreme Court
Rodney Ryder, Co-Chairman, Scriboard, Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Amitabh Lal Das, General Counsel, Yahoo.

1505-1520 hrs Q&A Session conducted by Session Moderator

1520-1525 hrs Closing remarks by Session Moderator

Session 2: Creating Safe telecom networks: Role of Telecom Service and Content Providers

Under the current scenario, most sectors are powered by telecom. Telecom networks are also perceived as extremely vulnerable. Securing these sensitive infrastructure is of key importance.

• Net work security: How well equipped are we to handle infringements?
• Connectivity is the key: Security Breaches and apprehending the criminal
• Protecting the critical physical infrastructure

1205-1215 hrs: Session Chair:N Parameswaran, Pr Advisor, (RE), TRAI

1215-1255 hrs Address by:

Anuj K Srivastava, General Manager(East), MTNL, New Delhi*
Rajat Mukherji, Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Idea Cellular
Keith White, Head-Competence Development, Nokia Siemens Network.
Subrat Kar, Professor, Dept of Electrical Engg, IIT Delhi

1255-1310 hrs: Q&A Session conducted by Session Moderator

1310-1315 hrs: Closing remarks by Session Moderator