Deputy National Security Adviser Dr Arvind Gupta
Bengaluru: Cyber crime, international espionage, cyber terrorism, IPR theft and misuse of social media — these are, broadly speaking, the biggest cyber threats that India faces, said Dr Arvind Gupta, Deputy National Security Advisor.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle on the sidelines of the Synergia Conference which brought in world leaders like Carl Bildt, former prime minister of Sweden and a whole host of experts from across the world, he explained how India’s cyber security is firmly rooted in policy.
“We have a national security co-ordinator and a cyber security policy. There is also a private public working group which focuses on cyber security skills as well as R&D,” said Mr Gupta, a noted defence and strategic affairs analyst and former diplomat who headed the Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis.
As was emphasised repeatedly during the two-day conference, there is no real guarantee of safety, no matter what precautions are taken. “It’s difficult to prevent cyber crime, because it's so difficult to pinpoint the perpetrator,” said Dr Gupta. “They can use proxy servers, so attribution is a problem.
This has been taken note of at the UN as well.” The line between external and internal security has blurred considerably with the advent of cyber crime. “Now, the threat is to the economy and social structure.”
The National Encryption Policy by the Indian Government fuelled the net neutrality fire last week, with the policy saying that deleting whatsapp messages before 90 days might land you in jail.
Although he refrained from commenting on the matter, Dr Gupta agreed that cyber crime is a real problem and immediate safety measures are critical. Won’t these, however, compromise on net neutrality? “That’s a societal choice,” he said. “Certain rules of behaviour and conduct are choices that we have to make as a society, if we want to stay safe.”
