Laying emphasis on civil liberties, telecom department refused to heed to home ministry’s demand to usurp power to intercept private communications disregarding individual privacy under the pretext of national security.
A cabinet note on draft telecom policy said that the telecom department was against allowing tapping of private communications by law enforcement agencies without any respect to individual privacy.
With about seven government agencies having mandate to tap conversations, a committee currently oversees the home secretary’s orders for wire-tapping. This implements a system of interception by authorisation. A former Telecom Regulatory Authority of India chairman, on condition of anonymity, said, “A delicate balance needs to be set between national security requirements and an individual’s right to privacy. The department of telecommunications’ decision in this regard is correct”.
Telecom department however agreed to home ministry’s proposal to incorporate interception facilities into any new telecommunication services launched in India. Hemant Joshi, partner and telecom leader at Deloitte, Haskins and Sells however felt “sophisticated technologies made decrypting encrypted data, more than voice, very difficult”.
The MHA’s concerns regarding incorporation of interception facilities in new technology comes in the wake of controversy surrounding Research In Motion’s refusal to allow Indian investigating agencies backdoor access to the company’s “Blackberry Messenger Service”.
The government of India had struck a deal with EMC of Israel, a computer security behemoth, to decrypt messages, first reported by Financial Chronicle. The popular messenger service, which encrypts instant chat messages, was used extensively by terrorists for communicating with each other and with their handlers based in Pakistan during the Mumbai terror attacks of 26/11, which vastly increased their efficacy.
Romal Shetty, head, telecom advisory and partner, KPMG India said “this [incorporation of facilities for lawful interception] concern of the MHA will be difficult to comply with. It should not mean that new, innovative services using sophisticated technology cannot be launched until the government is able to get backdoor access to it”.
The DoT also said national capacity in interception and monitoring of encrypted communications had to be built.It was in agreement with home ministry’s view that for long-term security, “ there has to be increased production of critical components (software and hardware) in India”.
http://wrd.mydigitalfc.com/news/dot-won%25E2%2580%2599t-allow-home-ministry-intercept-private-communication-784
A cabinet note on draft telecom policy said that the telecom department was against allowing tapping of private communications by law enforcement agencies without any respect to individual privacy.
With about seven government agencies having mandate to tap conversations, a committee currently oversees the home secretary’s orders for wire-tapping. This implements a system of interception by authorisation. A former Telecom Regulatory Authority of India chairman, on condition of anonymity, said, “A delicate balance needs to be set between national security requirements and an individual’s right to privacy. The department of telecommunications’ decision in this regard is correct”.
Telecom department however agreed to home ministry’s proposal to incorporate interception facilities into any new telecommunication services launched in India. Hemant Joshi, partner and telecom leader at Deloitte, Haskins and Sells however felt “sophisticated technologies made decrypting encrypted data, more than voice, very difficult”.
The MHA’s concerns regarding incorporation of interception facilities in new technology comes in the wake of controversy surrounding Research In Motion’s refusal to allow Indian investigating agencies backdoor access to the company’s “Blackberry Messenger Service”.
The government of India had struck a deal with EMC of Israel, a computer security behemoth, to decrypt messages, first reported by Financial Chronicle. The popular messenger service, which encrypts instant chat messages, was used extensively by terrorists for communicating with each other and with their handlers based in Pakistan during the Mumbai terror attacks of 26/11, which vastly increased their efficacy.
Romal Shetty, head, telecom advisory and partner, KPMG India said “this [incorporation of facilities for lawful interception] concern of the MHA will be difficult to comply with. It should not mean that new, innovative services using sophisticated technology cannot be launched until the government is able to get backdoor access to it”.
The DoT also said national capacity in interception and monitoring of encrypted communications had to be built.It was in agreement with home ministry’s view that for long-term security, “ there has to be increased production of critical components (software and hardware) in India”.
http://wrd.mydigitalfc.com/news/dot-won%25E2%2580%2599t-allow-home-ministry-intercept-private-communication-784