Cyber Command And Control Authority Of India

Cyber security is an issue that has always been ignored by India. As a result, cyber security of India is in a poor condition. Cyber security is not mere formulation of policies but their actual implementation. At this level of implementation, Indian government fails miserably as it lacks the techno legal skill necessary to implement cyber security policies.

India needs skilled techno legal professionals who can implement the cyber security policy of India. As a matter of fact, till now we have no cyber security policy in India and we need to formulate a good one as soon as possible.

India must formulate effective Preventive and Offensive Cyber Capabilities to safeguard its Cyberspace and Critical Infrastructure, suggests Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based techno legal firm Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of India. India must develop Cyber Warfare Capabilities as soon as possible, suggests Dalal.

There is no doubt that Indian national security must have information warfare as an essential component. Taking clue from various suggestions of techno legal experts of India, the Manmohan Singh government is in the process of establishing a cyber command and control authority for India. This would be a centralised mechanism that would be placed under the National Security Adviser who reports to the PM.

This is a good step in the right direction, says Dalal. This was a much needed initiative that has, at last, got the attention of Indian Government. The only thing that remains to be seen is how effectively this initiative would be handled by Indian Government, says Dalal. Let us see how the National Security Adviser would proceed with this initiative.

Cyber Crime Policy Of India

Cyber crime is an area that requires policy formulation at the national level. In the Indian context, there is no national cyber crimes policy of India. In fact, cyber crime policy and strategies of India is so important that the issue must be taken up by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) of India. The present cyber law of India is not effective and PMO must ensure a new cyber law for India.

India needs to do extensive research on the legal and policy related issues pertaining to regulation of cyber crime at the national and global levels. Although India is not a signatory to the EU Convention on Cyber Crimes yet there is no reason for it to remain aloof from International Norms and Standards, says Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based law firm Perry4Law and a Supreme Court lawyer.

India has been lax regarding policy formulation for techno legal issues. For instance, there is no cyber security policy and strategy in India, no national security policy of India, no national security and ICT policy of India, no ICT policy in India, no national ICT crisis management plan of India, etc.

In this background, it is no surprise that we have no cyber crime policy in India as well. When issues like Cyber Terrorism, Cyber Warfare, Cyber Espionage, etc are troubling India, having no Cyber Crime Policy is not a good indication, cautions Dalal.

We must urgently formulate a good and effective Techno Legal Cyber Crime Policy for India, suggests Dalal. It is for the government of India to take the initiative as sooner or later it has to adopt ICT related policies for India. The sooner these policies are adopted the better it would be for the national interest of India.

Cyber Terrorism In India And Its Preparedness

Cyber terrorism in India is no more a new concept. India has been facing constant cyber security attacks. Further, cyber terrorism attacks are also common in Indian cyberspace though their execution and detection is by and large unnoticeable and undetected in India.

Cyber terrorism is becoming a big nuisance for India and India has to be technologically as well as legally sound to tackle the same. There is an emergent need to amend the cyber law of India, i.e. Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act, 2000) in this regard as a single provision is not sufficient as per the cyber law experts.

Even there is no national ICT crisis management plan of India that is addressing the menace of cyber terrorism in India. The critical infrastructure of India has become vulnerable due to inadequate cyber security. This vulnerability can not only be exploited by cyber criminals but also be the cyber terrorists.

Securing the critical national infrastructure of India from cyber attacks should be a priority area for India. This requires formulating a cyber security policy of India that is presently missing. Without a cyber security policy and strategy of India, the cyber security initiatives of India are directionless.

Even there is no legal framework for cyber security in India. By incorporating a few ineffective and irrelevant provisions in the IT Act 2000, Indian government thinks that it has the cyber security law in India.

In fact, cyber terrorism preparedness must be an essential part of the homeland security of India. Homeland security of India must be strengthened and in order to do so we must take care of issues like cyber law, cyber security, cyber espionage, cyber terrorism, cyber warfare, etc.

Homeland Security is in infancy stage in India, says Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of India. Further, India also needs a separate Framework for Cyber Security, Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP), Cyber Terrorism, Cyber Warfare, Homeland Security issues, etc suggest Praveen Dalal.

Clearly, India has not yet taken enough initiatives to tackle the menace of cyber terrorism. Lack of legislative skills seems to be the main reason why India is running short of good and effective cyber legislations.

India must urgently enact a suitable cyber security policy and homeland security that clearly demarcates its preparedness to deal with growing menace of cyber attacks and cyber terrorism activities against India.

Cyber Security Training In India

Cyber security is a highly complicated and very remunerative profession. It requires tremendous knowledge about computers, networks, computing principles and many more complex aspects.

These days every discipline has become attached to one or more other disciplines. Cyber security has also been clubbed with legal framework world over. Cyber security has essentially become techno legal in nature where it has to cater the requirements of both law and computer science.

However, there are very few techno legal institutions that can provide techno legal cyber security training and education. For instance, we have a single techno legal cyber security research, training and education centre in India. It is managed by Perry4Law and Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB). We need more such techno legal cyber security institutions in India.

PTLB and Perry4Law are providing cyber security training and education in India through their online platform. The platform also provides training regarding cyber law, cyber forensics, e-courts, etc.

Overall, the position of cyber security is not very good in India. This is mainly attributable to the absence of cyber security policy in India. In the absence of cyber security policy in India, not much attention is given to cyber security research, education and training in India.

Indian government must not only spread cyber law and cyber security awareness in India but must also work in the direction of strengthening the overall position of cyber security in India.

Cyber Terrorism In India Is A Big Security Threat

Cyber terrorism in India is no more a fictional idea but is a reality. Although there is no clear cut definition of cyber terrorism yet use of information and communication technology (ICT) by terrorists is beyond any dispute or doubt.

India has been consistently lax regarding enacting strong cyber laws and ensuring good cyber security. As a result crucial governmental computer systems have been targeted by cyber criminals throughout the world. Many sensitive documents have been stolen in this manner but India has not taken enough steps to either strengthen its cyber law or effectuating its cyber security.

As a result cyber crimes in India are increasing at an alarming rate. Even the information technology act 2000 of India carries a single provision regarding cyber terrorism. It is surprising how such a crucial issue has been so indifferently dealt with by Indian government by a single provision.

A special attention must be given to cyber security of defence forces installations as they usually carry sensitive information. These installations must be frequently tested for cyber security breaches as compared to other normal and civil computer systems.

India need to gather popular public support as well as the political will to meet the objectives of cyber security and to prevent cyber terrorism and cyber attacks. Cyber security is a collective responsibility and India as a whole must address this issue with a sound cyber security policy.

Critical ICT Infrastructure Protection In India

Critical ICT infrastructure protection (CIIP) is becoming more and more crucial these days. The reason is very simple to understand. These days many crucial functions of private and government are essentially connected with the computers and computers systems. If these computers or computer systems are compromised, much damage can be done to the country where such breach has occurred.

Although the importance of CIIP is well understood by India yet it has not taken any active steps in this regard. There is neither a cyber security policy of India nor is there any strategy in this regard. Even there is absence of basic level of cyber security training in India and cyber security research and development in India.

Till now we have just one techno-legal cyber security research and training centre in India (CSRTCI). The same is managed by Perry4Law, the exclusive techno-legal firm of India. The CSRTCI has been managing the techno-legal aspects of cyber security for long. Some of the areas of its specialisation pertain to cyber law, cyber security, cyber forensics, cyber war, cyber terrorism, cyber espionage, corporate espionage, critical ICT infrastructure protection, CCTNS, Natgrid, NCTC, etc.

However, CSRTCI is also a part of much larger and highly specialised initiative providing protection to human rights in cyberspace. The human rights initiative is also the exclusive initiative providing techno-legal measures and remedies against cyber terrorism in India and cyber war in India.

Except this private initiative, there is no other initiative that is providing techno-legal solutions against cyber terrorism, cyber war, cyber espionage, etc. Sooner or later India would also need to take measures to protect CIIP.