Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Internet Kill Switch In India

Indian government in general and intelligence and security agencies of India in particular are not at all comfortable with the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in India. For instance, use of encryption technology in India is feared like a plague by Indian government. That is why there are practically no encryption laws and regulations in India.

Similarly, Internet in India is under potential threats of e-surveillance and civil liberties violations. We have no lawful interception law in India and phone tapping and e-surveillance in India is done in an illegal and unconstitutional manner. As a result, Internet censorship in India, phone tapping and e-surveillance in India have increased a lot.

India has poor cyber law and inadequate cyber security. We have no cyber security policy as well as a national security policy in India. Critical infrastructure protection in India has not yet received the attention of Indian government.

No doubt critical infrastructure protection in India is absolutely required but Internet kill switch is no a solution to cyber security problems of India. Further, Internet kill switch should not be used as a tool of e-surveillance and Internet control in India. On the contrary, we need active steps to formulate anti Internet kill switch measures in India.

We originally raised these concerns in India for the first time and it seems now the media has also taken note of this issue. We once again reiterate the need of anti Internet kill switch laws in India before it is too late.