People & Their Problems

New Delhi, 1 August 2008

Tackling Cyber Crime

INDIAN NEEDS TO GET CRACKING

By Radhakrishna Rao

The exponential expansion of the computer connectivity over the years has fuelled a phenomenal growth in cyber crime with serious consequences for individual privacy, economic and industrial growth as well as national security.

Smart operators and tech savvy criminals have succeeded to a large extent in perfecting the art of stealing vital data, laundering large amounts of black money, robbing huge amounts from individual and corporate bank accounts, supporting terrorist activities and disrupting the communications links of the security forces with a high degree of accuracy.

Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of the burgeoning cyber crime is the increasing involvement of the skilled, educated but unemployed youth in the business of electronic crime. Either just for the fun of it or for   making quick and easy money.

In a recent crack down on a cyber crime mafia in France, law enforcing agencies arrested more than 20 youths who managed to hack the websites belonging to prominent corporate entities in various parts of Europe. If convicted, these youths will receive exemplary punishment for indulging in cyber crime.

Importantly, Indian security experts have been highlighting the need for awarding severe punishment to cyber criminals to thwart the youngsters from taking to cyber crime. Interestingly, the cyber crime syndicates have in their arsenal, tools powerful enough to circumvent the “security walls” and “fire walls’ that a computer user may install in his system.

According to a former Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) R.K.Raghavan, “The law enforcement outfits especially cyber crime investigation cells need to get their acts together by improving the quality of their investigation as also educating computer users on how to protect themselves.” Especially against the backdrop of the growing global concern over India’s emergence as a major target of cyber crime operators. Primarily as cyber crime could slow down the country’s growth as an outsourcing centre for a number of services.

Indeed, hardly a day passes without the media reporting instance of cyber criminals stealing large amounts of money from individual and corporate bank accounts. Not only that. Terrorist groups responsible for bomb explosions in various parts of the country make extensive use of cyber space for giving a practical shape to their heinous plans. Unfortunately, Indian security agencies, except for blaming “outside hands” have failed miserably in pinning down the groups responsible for bomb explosions that recently rattled Bangalore and Ahmadabad.

Significantly, over the last one year as many as 10 websites of the Government of India have been hacked. According to the Boston-based Core Security Technologies, cyber criminals could gain remote access of a “country’s water treatment plants, natural gas pipelines and other critical utilities” through imaginatively conceived and well executed plans.

Besides, as a Senior Cyber Security Advisor with the President Bush Administration pertinently pointed out that in the current cyber crimes, the target is a user’s data. Thus it is imperative that the security and private people work together to unravel a lot of cases. In the Indian contest he felt if the country became known as the nation with the most robust, secured, protected network infrastructure it would do a lot for the Indian economy.

True, vigorous efforts are on the world over to thwart the evil designs of cyber criminals. Already many cyber police stations meant exclusively to handle the cases of cyber crimes have come up in various parts of the country. The West Bengal Government on its part has decided to set up the Indian Institute of Information Technology with an investment of Rs.2000-million which would specialize in cyber security related resources and technology.

As it stands the $100-billion plus global cyber crime market is gaining strength with each passing day. Worse, it has become a major headache for defense forces and security agencies in various parts of the world. Wherein there have been instances of the theft of critical data stored in ostensibly high security systems of the defence establishments.

Clearly, with cyber space emerging as the next frontier of warfare, cyber criminals are finding it rather easy to disrupt the data flow and communications links of the defence forces scattered across a widely dispersed geographical stretch.

Moreover, in India since all the three wings of the services are making extensive use of cyber space for their coordinated warfare strategy, cyber criminals and terrorist groups are devising novel techniques to break open the security walls put around the data storage systems and communications links of the Indian Defence Forces.

Asserted Air Marshal A.R.Ghandhi, “While trying to identify the place of cyberspace in warfare today, one is at a loss to exclude any military activity. The use of the electronic spectrum, computers and information is so widespread in all spheres of military activity that it assumes overwhelming priority for a soft kill by adversaries since it could destroy, divert and disassemble command and control structures”.

Further, many security experts opine that cyber crime is far easier to perpetrate than conventional crime, which needs a lot of ground work and superb organizational skill prior to committing the crime. On the other hand, those committing crimes in cyberspace remain faceless entities and in many instances succeed in going scot free.

As pointed out by UK’s Serious and Organized Crime Agency (SOCA) software firms, corporate houses and BPO units should check the antecedents of those it is employing before recruitment them. Given that in our country no stand alone insurance cover is available to take of cyber crimes. Of course, such risks are being covered under the crime liability insurance products offered by general insurers.

India is still in the first phase of development of a product that covers cyber crimes. But with most foreign clients giving confidential information to their service providers, insurance companies are now being coerced to opt for cover. Also, with the number of cyber criminals increasing and getting booked, Indian and international insurance companies are hooting for stand along cover for cyber crimes, especially those associated with business and economic activities.

All eyes are now focused on a team of researchers from the US-based Louisiana State University Tech who are working on a project to set up a centre for excellence for predicting, detecting and controlling anomalous behavior in cyber space as a prelude to tracking down the perpetrators of cyber crime with a high level of efficiency. The smart cyber centric senior surveillance system to be developed by them would be capable of providing a real time detection and identification of both unusual   and rare patterns of activities. ---- INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)