What Ails The Cyber Security Of India

Effective cyber law and cyber security capabilities are two essential components of a sound techno-legal regime of any nation. In India we have none. India must seriously consider the requirements of cyber security and a sound cyber law. The cyber security strategies of India are not conducive for a sound business environment in India. The cyber security trends in India 2007 and further trends like cyber law trends in India, 2008, etc proved the absence of good cyber security practices in India. Similarly, the wireless security in India requires immediate measures to be taken by the Indian government. The wireless and convergence laws in India are not adequate and up to the mark. Absence of a strong cyber law and cyber security in India is just one side of the story. Privacy and trust in digital life is very important for e-governance and e-commerce to succeed in India. Data protection law in India would be directly challenged in the near future the moment privacy and data rights in India take the front seat. Social engineering techniques are seriously prejudicing the trust and security in digital life in India.

 

According to Praveen Dalal, the Leading Techno-Legal Specialist of India, “Cyber security can be defeated by both “technical flaws” as well as by “narrow minded approach” of the regulators. The most obvious and destructive method of cyber insecurity is faced in the form of “human element”. The human aspect is the “weakest link” in the security chain. The “social engineering techniques” coupled with “technical flaws” in the operating systems, applications, web servers, etc can defeat any security framework. The only option seems to be to fight fire with fire and poison with poison. To deal with sophisticated cyber criminals we must have hackers (not crackers) on our side. The Governmental mentality must be changed in this regard and they must seek help of all those who can help. We must adopt a “Global Cyber Security Agenda” where the expertise and suggestions of experts from all over the World can be utilised. From the gathered inputs, we must come out with a draft of “International Cyber Law Treaty”.

 

In the larger interest of India, the government must act seriously now. The way in which the IT Act, 2000 (Amendment Bill), 2008 was passed by the legislatures of India is not only undemocratic but also a glaring example of non-application of mind. There must have been a debate or discussion before passing such an important Bill. However, the legislatures had no time for that and by a simple voice vote the fate of crores of Indian were decided, violating their basic Human Rights and Fundamental Rights. To aggravate the matter further, till now a copy of the same has not been made available to the public for scrutiny and analysis by either the Department of Information Technology (DIT) or Government of India. It is high time that India must concentrate upon a sound cyber law and capable cyber security.