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.
