Cyber Forensics In India Needs Rejuvenation

Cyber forensics has become an indispensable part of legal systems world wide. Naturally, countries across the world are trying to develop cyber forensics capabilities. Cyber forensics in India, on the other hand, is not in a good shape. In fact, cyber forensics and Indian approach in this regard are not conducive for the long term growth and development of cyber forensics in India.

According to Praveen Dalal, managing partner of ICT law firm Perry4Law and leading techno legal specialist of Asia, Cyber Forensics has not found favour with the Executive, Judiciary, Legislature and the Administrative Branches of India. We have no dedicated Cyber Forensics Laws in India. Even the Information Technology Act 2000 (IT Act 2000), which is the Cyber Law of India, is not covering Cyber Forensics. A going reference of Cyber Forensics may be found in the IT Act 2000 but that is nothing more than a reference with no actual “Utility” as on date.

Thus, in India cyber forensics is not growing because of factors like lack of awareness, lack of political will, fear of unknown, apathy to the technology, etc. Our lawmakers are not aware of technological issues and our executive is least bothered. Naturally cyber forensics cannot grow in such an environment.

Agrees Andre Muscat, Director, Strategic Relationships at GFI Software Ltd. There is an under investment in laws, systems and platforms to enhance cyber forensics in various countries. It seems that there are countries who under invest in this area, and others who are on the front of investing and growing but with a problem in understanding how to actually invest in, opines Andre Muscat. There are so many tools and solutions which can help this situation and we frequently find that these tools are just not known to exist, says Andre Muscat.

It is high time that Indian government must ensure cyber forensics skills development in India. PTLB is managing the exclusive online cyber forensics training centre of India. PTLB is also providing online cyber forensics courses in India. More such initiatives must be undertaken in India to bridge the cyber forensics skills gap that is existing in India.

Cyber Security In India: The Missing Links

Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner Of Law Firm Perry4Law.

Cyber security in India needs to be strengthened as India is increasingly facing serious cyber attacks. Clearly India is not prepared to tackle these sophisticated cyber attacks. At the legal framework level as well, India has not enacted suitable cyber laws and cyber security laws in this regard.  

Fortunately, some hints have been given by Indian government regarding strengthening of cyber security in India. In fact, a cyber security policy of India is in pipeline. India has ignored its cyberspace for long and for reasons better known to it India considered cyberspace and Internet as an insignificant area that need not to be guarded against cyber attacks.

However, India still has to cover a long gap before its cyberspace can be considered to be reasonably safe. There are many crucial steps that India must take immediately in this direction.

According to Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based Law Firm Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of Asia, Indian Counter Terrorism Capabilities needs Rejuvenation to deal with traditional Terrorism and Cyber Terrorism. Cyber Warfare against India is increasing and Cyber Security Capabilities of India must be strengthened to tackle the same, suggests Praveen Dalal. Cyber Security Skills Development in India must be taken seriously and dependence upon Internet Censorship and E-Surveillance should be forsaken immediately, opines Praveen Dalal.

Securing cyberspace is not a regional or national issue but is an international one. International community must also look towards harmonisation of legal framework in this direction as cyber attacks are global in nature. Till United Nations (UN) steps in and enacts “universally acceptable” international cyber law treaty and international cyber security treaty, this problem would remain murky and difficult to resolve. Further, nothing can benefit more than an international cyber security cooperation that is urgently required.

The incidences of cyber attacks, cyber terrorism, cyber espionage, cyber warfare, etc are increasing against India. We must urgently develop cyber warfare capabilities in India to thwart growing cyber attacks against India. Further, we must also formulate a cyber warfare policy in India that is presently missing.

Cyber warfare is also the reason why we need to ensure critical infrastructure protection in India and critical ICT infrastructure protection in India. In fact the growing cyber attacks are affecting Indian critical infrastructure. Thus, cyber security capabilities through techno legal cyber security trainings in India must be strengthened.

However, there is a grave cause of concern these days. Human rights in India vis-à-vis cyberspace are always ignored. Surveillance of Internet Traffic in India is now a normal practice informs Praveen Dalal. Surveillance of Internet Traffic without Procedural Safeguards is Violative of Civil Liberties of Indians in Cyberspace, claims Dalal. Big brother in India is violating Indian constitution without any check and balances in the name of national security and cyber security and this practice must be abandoned. Instead, sufficient cyber security skills must be developed so that cyber threats can be effectively tackled in India.  

Cyber Security In India Needed

Cyber security in India is one issue that requires immediate attention of our policy makers. Cyber security issue has already been delayed for more than 5 years and there is no sense in further delaying the same.

Perry4Law and Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB) have been advocating for a strong, robust and techno legal cyber security for India. The cyber laws and cyber security trends in India 2011 provided by Perry4Law and PTLB clearly stated that there is no room for further delaying the strengthening of cyber security in India.

Cyber security policy and strategy of India has finally got the attention of Indian government and the cyber security policy of India is in pipeline. However, it is still not clear whether the proposed cyber security policy of India would be techno legal or not as has been suggested by Perry4Law and PTLB.

Meanwhile, the national cyber coordination centre (NCCC) of India has been proposed that may strengthen the cyber security of India provided it takes care of certain techno legal issues.

To start with, we need a sound Techno Legal Framework for Cyber Security in India, suggests Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based Law Firm Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of Asia. We have no dedicated Legal Framework for Cyber Security in India and Cyber Security Laws in India are grossly missing, opines Dalal. Further, Cyber Security Capabilities of India must be Strengthened suggests Dalal. To supplement the same Cyber Forensics Capabilities of India must be enhanced and the Cyber Law of India must be reformulated, stresses Dalal.

These are ambitious objectives that require good techno legal skills development. The sooner these skills are developed the better it would be for the larger interest of India.

Cyber Security Policy Of India In Pipeline

 Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner Of Law Firm Perry4Law. 

Cyber security in India has always remained in doldrums. India has not paid enough attention to either cyber law or cyber security related issues. Cyber security policy of India is still missing. Keeping in mind the increasing cyber attacks against India, national cyber security policy of India is needed as soon as possible.

India's national cyber security policy was never considered part of the national security policy of India. For some strange reasons India considered cyberspace and Internet as an insignificant area that need not to be guarded against cyber attacks.

India must not forget that a sound national security policy must have many essential and important aspects incorporated into it. One such essential component is cyber security policy and strategy of India. Till now we have no implementable national cyber security policy of India.

According to Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based Law Firm Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of Asia, Indian Counter Terrorism Capabilities needs Rejuvenation to deal with traditional Terrorism and Cyber Terrorism. Cyber Warfare against India is increasing and Cyber Security Capabilities of India must be strengthened to tackle the same, suggests Praveen Dalal. Cyber Security Skills Development in India must be taken seriously and dependence upon Internet Censorship and E-Surveillance should be forsaken immediately, opines Praveen Dalal.

Perry4Law and Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB) are filling this gap in India and abroad. They are maintaining the exclusive techno legal cyber security research, education and training centre of India (CSRTCI). Further, techno legal e-learning courses, education and trainings by PTLB are also provided by them to make techno legal cyber security professionals in India.

However, international community must also look towards harmonisation in this direction as cyber attacks are global in nature. Till United Nations (UN) steps in and enacts “universally acceptable” international cyber law treaty and international cyber security treaty, this problem would remain murky and difficult to resolve. Further, nothing can benefit more than an international cyber security cooperation that is urgently required.

The incidences of cyber attacks, cyber terrorism, cyber espionage, cyber warfare, etc are increasing against India. However, in the absence of India’s national cyber security policy, cyber security in India is a neglected field. We must urgently develop cyber warfare capabilities in India to thwart growing cyber attacks against India. Further, we must also formulate a cyber warfare policy in India that is presently missing.

Cyber warfare is also the reason why we need to ensure critical infrastructure protection in India and critical ICT infrastructure protection in India. In fact the growing cyber attacks are affecting Indian critical infrastructure. Thus, cyber security capabilities through techno legal cyber security trainings in India must be strengthened. We must stress upon cyber security skills development in India.

However, there is a grave cause of concern these days. Human rights in India vis-à-vis cyberspace are always ignored. Surveillance of Internet Traffic in India is now a normal practice informs Praveen Dalal. Surveillance of Internet Traffic without Procedural Safeguards is Violative of Civil Liberties of Indians in Cyberspace, claims Dalal. Big brother in India is violating Indian constitution without any check and balances in the name of national security and cyber security and this practice must be abandoned. Instead, sufficient cyber security skills must be developed so that cyber threats can be effectively tackled in India.  

Cyber Security Policy Of India

 Leading techno legal experts of India have been maintaining since 2007 that cyber security in India is an ignored world. However, for one reason or other Indian government failed to improve the situation and cyber security remained a distant dream in India.

Even wake up calls to enhance cyber security in India has been given from time to time but Indian government remained indifferent as usual. There is no second opinion that national cyber security policy of India is needed. Further, there is an urgent need that cyber security capabilities of India must be strengthened immediately.

However, cyber security in India has not been given proper attention because even the national security policy of India is still unclear. When even the national cyber security policy of India is unclear, we cannot expect a sound cyber security policy in India.

A sound national security policy must have many essential and important aspects incorporated into it. One such essential component is cyber security policy and strategy of India. Till now we have no implementable national cyber security policy of India.

India’s national cyber security policy must be suitable formulated and immediately implemented. Further, Indian counter terrorism capabilities needs rejuvenation to deal with traditional terrorism and cyber terrorism. Indian defense and security against cyber warfare must also be developed.

National Security Policy of India is urgently required and Cyber Security Policy of India must be an essential part of the same, says Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based Law Firm Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of India. Increasing Cyber Security Readiness with Adaptive Threat Management is need of the hour, suggests Dalal. Further, Measurement of ICT Resilience and Robustness on regular basis is also required, suggests Dalal.

Even cyber security research and development in India is lacking. We have a single and exclusive techno legal cyber security research, training and education institution of India. The same is managed by Perry4Law and Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB). It is managing issues like cyber law, cyber security, cyber war, cyber espionage, cyber forensics, etc.

Now some segments have endorsed the viewpoint of Perry4Law and PTLB and they have openly come in support of the ideals of ensuring cyber security in India. Even Indian government has given some hints that it would consider cyber security as an important aspect of national security.

However, this small step of Indian government took five years since experts like Praveen Dalal recommended strengthening of Indian cyber security initially in 2007. However, at least Indian government is thinking about this crucial issue and that is a good sign.

Big Brother In India Is violating Indian Constitution

The trouble with big brother’s eye in India is that there are no laws that can control or punish any illegal or unconstitutional e-surveillance, phone tapping, etc in India. The outdated and colonial laws are not only deficient but are also going against the provisions of Indian constitution.

There is no doubt that big brother must not overstep the limits prescribed by Indian constitution. Presently, the big brother watches in India without any fear and constitutional concerns.

Civil liberties in India and technological revolution are considered mutually exhaustive in India. Initiatives like surveillance of Internet traffic in India are executed without any procedural safeguards and constitutional rights. E-surveillance in India is presently done with virtually no legal framework. Whatever rules that have been framed in this regard by Indian government, they are clearly violating the constitutional freedoms and rights.

As a matter of fact, civil liberties protection in cyberspace in India have been totally ignored and false claims of national security are raised to suppress civil liberties in India.

According to Praveen Dalal, leading techno legal expert of Asia and managing partner of Perry4Law and CEO of PTLB, Surveillance of Internet Traffic in India is one of the top priorities of Indian Government. Now E-Surveillance is proposed to be expanded to even mobile infrastructure. The cell site location based e-surveillance in India is also in contemplation. Cell site data location laws in India and privacy issues are once again bypassed for this proposal. Even the E-Surveillance Policy of India is missing that can provide some safeguards against Illegal and Unconstitutional E-Surveillance in India, informs Praveen Dalal.

If we analyse projects like Aadhar project of India, central monitoring system project of India, etc it is clear that they are primarily intended to strengthen the e-surveillance capabilities of India without and constitutional safeguards. For long time India has been suppressing civil liberties in India cyberspace and it is high time to question Indian government in this regard.

Human Rights In Indian Cyberspace

Civil liberties in India and technological revolution are sharing an adverse relationship in India. The more technology India is using the greater are civil liberties violations in India. For instance, e-surveillance in India is openly done without any constitutionally sound legal framework.

The civil liberties protection in cyberspace in India are totally absent and  Indian government is introducing laws, regulations and rules that clearly violate the freedoms guaranteed by Indian constitution. Now Indian government has extended its e-surveillance activities to Internet and mobile infrastructure as well.

According to Praveen Dalal, leading techno legal expert of Asia and managing partner of Perry4Law and CEO of PTLB, Surveillance of Internet Traffic in India is one of the top priorities of Indian Government. Now E-Surveillance is proposed to be expanded to even mobile infrastructure. The cell site location based e-surveillance in India is also in contemplation. Cell site data location laws in India and privacy issues are once again bypassed for this proposal. Even the E-Surveillance Policy of India is missing that can provide some safeguards against Illegal and Unconstitutional E-Surveillance in India, informs Praveen Dalal.

Similarly projects like Aadhar project of India, central monitoring system project of India, etc are also intended to strengthen the e-surveillance capabilities of India without and constitutional safeguards.

ICT policies and strategies of India are grossly defective and clearly violating human rights in cyberspace. In fact, there is a dedicated resource titled websites, blogs and news censorship by Google and Indian government that is making a database of various censorship and results manipulation activities in India.

Indian government must ensure civil liberties protection in Indian cyberspace as that is its constitutional as well as human right objective.