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Monday, December 15, 2003		Feature

E-shot in the terrorist’s arm
Radhakrishna Rao

THE rapid growth of the Internet over the last decade while providing boost to connectivity and communications in its varying manifestations has also contributed in a big way to the spread of crime. Because the security aspect of the computer network active in the cyberspace is far from foolproof, hackers can easily get hold of data to perpetrate fraud. The potential growth areas of cyber crime include virus-writing, hacking and auction fraud. According to an expert on Net security, fraudsters can easily reprint credit cards using the numbers pillaged during manual swipes and use it for transactions that appear quite legitimate on the face of it. The culprit remains incognito, hence, untraceable.

A report prepared by the Internet Security Division of America’s Federal Bureau of Intelligence (FBI) ranks India ninth in the list of countries which have registered a substantial number of cyber crimes and security breaches. Terrorists too have been using the Internet with a high degree of sophistication and success. Militants active in the Kashmir valley and in other parts of India make use of the Internet to sustain their nefarious activities. A couple of months ago, the Mumbai Police unearthed two dozen Internet-enabled machines used by the perpetrators of the August 2003 bomb blast in the metropolis. As sources in the police point out with the Internet and mobile technologies increasingly being used by the criminals, it has become difficult to trace the originating point of the conspiracy and is even possible to detonate bombs through mobile phones. The Internet is also being misused to lure kids and subject them to sexual abuse.

The most shocking aspect of the cyber crime is that something as innocuous as a visiting card that contains personal information such as telephone number and e-mail address provides enough material for perpetrating fraud in cyber space.

Minister’s reply in the Lok Sabha

A total of 59 senior police personnel have completed courses on Cyber Crime and Crisis Management from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the US, Minister of State for Home I.D. Swami told Lok Sabha. While 30 personnel had completed cyber crime course, the remaining 29 had completed the crisis management course as part of Anti-Terrorism Assistance programme, he said replying to written questions. He also denied media reports that the decision to allow limited mobile phone availability in Jammu and Kashmir had promoted militant groups. "No report of mobile phones in Jammu and Kashmir being passed into the hands of terrorists has come to notice," he told Lok Sabha in a written reply. Mr Swami said a number of security conditions had been incorporated by the Department of Telecommunications in the license agreement for Cellular Mobile Telephone Service (CMTS) in consultation with the Security agencies and Ministry of Home Affairs. The CMTS licensees were required to obtain application and supporting documents from their prospective subscribers before providing them with the service, inter-alia, to ascertain the identity of the subscribers. The licensees were also required to forward a list of all their subscribers to the security agencies on monthly basis. These arrangements enable the security agencies to keep a check on the misuse of mobile phones, he added. — UNI

Tackling crime

The use of biometrics and smart card has helped curb the menace of cyber crime to some extent. It is in the fitness of the things that the Indian judiciary has accepted digital evidence as a starting point for effecting prosecution.

Special computational technique designed to simulate the equivalent of a fingerprint in the analysis of the cyber crime are all set to enhance the quality of investigation. This specialised tool developed by the Centre for Advanced Computing (CDAC) has already been tested successfully by the Hyderabad-based National Police Academy that has also brought out a manual of standardised procedure for seizure, acquisition and analysis of digital evidence that would stand the scrutiny in a court of law.

Law enforcing agencies are clear in their perception that besides protecting software and hardware resources, organisations should also need to take steps to protect the Intellectual Property (IP) resources. In this context, Nasscom is working closely with the Government of India to formulate new policy guidelines aimed at ensuring better cyber security.

With the Internet and PCs being used everywhere, cyber criminals can easily hold the world to ransom with their subversive techniques. The war against cyber crime needs to be fought with enhanced vigour now.