New cyber security unit vitally needed

To set up a cyber security unit dedicated to the conduct of constant surveillance of the Internet is a welcome step. The government’s proposals in this regard are seen to be finally progressing in the right direction. What is planned is a watchdog body to focus on malicious content rather than outright censorship of the Internet, which would vitiate the principles of the freedom of speech and thought as enshrined in our Constitution.

The work of a watchdog over the seamless world interconnected by millions of computers offering terabytes of instant information and opinion is an onerous task that could easily cost a billion dollars a year or more. But as a pluralist and secular democracy with its own religious sensitivities, there is a clear need for India to be prepared to stave off inter-community problems rather than react to them after they erupt.
What happened in the exodus from our southern states to Northeast India was a telling lesson in the wisdom of being actively involved to watch the World Wide Web and nip malicious rumour-mongering in the bud. The spread of disaffection through disinformation is an instant’s work for depraved minds, but it takes huge efforts to set right by corrective action.
To strike a balance between thorough surveillance of cyberspace that seems ready to stretch to infinity and stepping on people’s toes by infringing on their freedom is an extremely delicate task. A government that is willing to abandon the ancient pen and paper practices and step up to the new world should arm itself with the expertise of scientists, geeks and ethical hackers to be able to cope.
The realisation that there is a whole new world out there may help in coming to grips with the complexities of the crimes committed on the Internet, from identity theft to financial fraud, from paedophilia to commercial sex and, more worryingly, spreading distrust through outright false and inflammatory propaganda through the Internet that is almost Goebbelsian. Governments also have to contend with psychological warfare being waged on the Internet through elements hostile to this country as it has a reach where other information dissemination forms may fail.
At a recent conference of heads of state police forces addressed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, national security adviser Shivshankar Menon admitted we were late by weeks in coming to grips with the exodus to the Northeast. Not to let that recur is what impels the present action to set up a dedicated cyber security unit with proper safeguards and guidelines. The move has not come a moment too soon since criminals are known to be always a step ahead. The challenge is one of dealing proactively with a transformed world.