Developing the Cyber Security Architecture
Cyber warfare is the internet based conflict which arises when the information system of the strategic departments of the country are attacked in order to get the classified information. In the modern world of digitization such politically motivated snooping is done to interrupt the strategic affairs of the nation. Sometimes it is aimed at attacking the major infrastructures of the nation.
With the shrinking world, the internet connectivity and heavy dependence of the government functioning on internet, it is imperative to have a cyber security framework.
Need of securing Cyber Space
In the world of digitization critical infrastructure like banking system, financial market, power infrastructure, and hydroelectric projects are prone to such attack. The grid failure like instances can be its consequences. Hydroelectric projects prone to disaster, may be attacked and create disasters. ‘Stuxnet’ like malwares which were introduce in the centrifuge of Iran was one such incidence.
NSA’s PRISM snooping incidence, Dropmier, Tempora are such other global surveillance programmes which were operationalised to mine the data strategic to India. Hackers from different countries like Pakistan and china try to deface the Indian website are the potential attackers.
Hence it is imperative to have in the modern times a properly tucked national security and monitoring system to have a digital surveillance in the country protecting it from cyber warfare and cyber espionage.
India’s efforts to minimize the cyber threat
With the rise of India in last some decades as a global power and emerging economy it attracted global attention and remains vulnerable with regard to information protection. India’s cyber security architecture as of now do not provide any mass surveillance mechanism with only few distinguished agencies like RAW, IB get access to such monitoring after the approval.
India’s effort include CERT-In (Computer Emergency Response Team-India) which was formed in 2002-03 to create awareness on cyber threat, understand vulnerabilities and devise ways to mitigate them.
National Technical Response Organization (NTRO) was given responsibility of protecting the critical infrastructure institution and developing offensive capabilities. Amendments to the IT act 2008, raised the level of awareness about the cyber crimes. It recognizes various ways of cyber attacks and also provides help to prosecute the cyber criminals.
National cyber security policy 2013 was framed to build a secure and resilient cyber space for government, citizen and business to protect the classified information critical to India’s security. Its features include range of provisions including 24X7 mechanisms to deal with cyber threats.
Measures in Pipeline
India is following the path of developing intense surveillance system which not only monitor the cyber threat to the national security but also seems to compromise the privacy of its citizen in some cases. The Central Monitoring System (CMS) is an ambitious project that is required to keep the national security and monitoring under surveillance. It would be a centralized mechanism where the telecommunication and internet connections can be analyzed by Indian government and its agencies. Central and regional database would help law enforcement agencies to monitor and intercept. Call data recordings and data mining to identify call details of the targeted numbers.
Another such Efforts is NeTRA (Network Traffic Analysis System) will intercept and examine communication over the internet for keywords like ‘attack’, ‘blast’, ‘kill’. It appears to be Indian government first attempt of mass surveillance rather than individual targets. It will scan the activities over the social networking websites like twitter and would scan the mails and chat transcript and even the voices in the internet traffic.
India’s cyber security has not only to be effectively implemented but also to be redrawn in line with growing cyber crimes.
