India Is A Sitting Duck In Cyber Security Area Warned Visionary Praveen Dalal In 2014

India’s position regarding cyber security and privacy protection has been exposed due to recent negative developments that have severely affected the rights of Indian citizens. It has now become very clear that India is a sitting duck in both the fields of civil liberties protections and cyber security. It has also been well understood by Indian citizens that privacy rights in India is not charity but a constitutional right. As a result it would be next to impossible for the Modi government to fool Indian citizens anymore in this regard.

Cyber security in India is an alien concept for Indian government for long. Even the Modi government is currently not in a position to tackle the cyber security challenges of India with its current approach and policies. Anybody can target India for various forms of cyber attacks and cyber crimes and India has become a land of no resistance for the crackers.

According to Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based ICT law firm Perry4Law and CEO of Perry4Law’s Techno Legal Base (PTLB), India is a Sitting Duck in the Cyberspace and Civil Liberties Protection Regime. Malware like Stuxnet, Duqu, Flame, Uroburos/Snake, Blackshades, FinFisher, Gameover Zeus (GOZ), etc cannot be tackled by India due to lack of Offensive and Defensive Cyber Security Capabilities in India. Cyber Security Breaches are increasing World over and India must be “Cyber Prepared” to deal with the same. The Cyber Security Challenges before the Narendra Modi Government are not easy to manage and Indian Cyberspace must be protected on a “Priority Basis”.

Whether it is Congress government or Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, none of them have done anything significant in the directions of ensuring effective cyber security laws and privacy laws in India. For instance, the Modi government has done nothing except summoning of few officials of United States for blatant violation of privacy rights of Indians and invading Indian cyberspace.

According to Dalal “We cannot “Enact Laws” but we can use “Counter Technologies” to prevent Illegal and Unconstitutional E-Surveillance and Eavesdropping. Self Defence and Privacy Protection in India must be ensured by us at our own levels. The initiatives titled PRISM Break and Reset the Net are the “Starting Point” in this regard”. If Modi government fails to safeguard privacy rights in the information era, self defence seems to be the only available option for Indian citizens.

First Virtual School Of India: Streami School

PTLB has been managing online education in India from K12 to lifelong learning since 2007. It launched many education and skills development initiatives from time to time since 2007. From virtual schools to to virtual campuses, PTLB launched many world class online learning and skills development portals.

PTLB Schools launched the PTLB Virtual School and Streami Virtual School in the year 2019. Streami Virtual School was specifically designed to develop contemporary and futuristic techno legal skills among children. These include fields like cyber law, cyber security, cyber forensics, e-discovery, cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, quantum computing, coding, etc.

That made Streami Virtual School the first Virtual school of India and the first Virtual School of the world that is imparting online techno legal skills development to global children. Recognition of Streami Virtual School is pending at the central govt (BJP) and Delhi govt (AAP) levels since March 2021.

The Virtual School models of PTLB became so popular that both BJP and AAP copied the same and used them to open their own virtual schools in August 2021 and August 2022 respectively.

We are currently in the process of upgrading the websites of PTLB Virtual Schools and Streami Virtual School and would activate the same once they are ready. However, considering the fact that central and state govt(s) are very quick to copy and use our models and ideas and label them as their own, we have to be very cautious. Till all things are sorted out, it would be prudent to not discuss and disclose anything to parties like BJP and AAP.

BJP And AAP Copied Virtual School Model Of Visionary Praveen Dalal

It is very common among govts to lack innovative ideas and their actual implementation. Private players and research organisations come to the rescue of govts around the world and Perry4Law Organisation (P4LO) and PTLB have been helping successive Indians govts since 2002, directly and indirectly.

PTLB has been developing skills and imparting online training in India since 2007 and PTLB Schools is a crucial project of PTLB for K12 segment. PTLB Schools launched a Virtual School in 2019/20 and along side the same it launched a dedicated Virtual School for extensive skills development of Indian school students. It was named as STREAMI Virtual School and it applied for recognition from both central govt (BJP) and Delhi govt (AAP) in March 2021. However, neither BJP nor AAP was capable of handling such recognition request and they are still processing the same at the time of writing of this article.

But the Virtual Schools of PTLB Schools and Streami School inspired both BJP and AAP to launch a much diluted version of Streami Virtual School. BJP launched the same in August 2021 and AAP launched it in August 2022, much after Virtual Schools of PTLB Schools and Streami School were launched.

A dedicated website of Streami Virtual School was launched on 08-03-2021 and a new website is in pipeline with latest additions and features. But a Blog has been launched to spread awareness about Streami Virtual School till the time the official website is relaunched in a rejuvenated form.

Although PTLB Schools launched a Virtual School in 2019/20 yet Streami Virtual School was launched with a dedicated website and in a much organised manner in March 2021. Streami Virtual School was in existence before that but not at its own dedicated website that only took place in March 2021. Streami Virtual School had its own e-learning and online learning portal since 2019 and was managed by PTLB.

So Streami Virtual School is not only the first official Virtual School of India but also the first ever techno legal Virtual School of the world. We at PTLB are happy to shape Indian education system and more innovative solutions would be offered by us very soon.

We are inviting very selective global investors to invest in Streami Virtual School on an unconditional, pre-approved and non-stake basis with a preferential right to invest in the same in future. Let us together develop this revolutionary and historic education for all initiative of PTLB Schools.

Cyber Warfare Against India And Its Defenses As Suggested By Visionary Praveen Dalal In 2012

It was the year 2011 when Visionary Praveen Dalal provided his recommendations to Congress govt regarding cyber warfare policy and development of offensive and defensive cyber warfare capabilities by India. However, both Congress and BJP have failed to act upon cyber security of India till October 2022.

Cyber Warfare is a concept that is well known at both national and international levels. In one form or other and in lesser degree or more, Cyber Warfare has been accepted as a reality in the present Cyber World. However, Cyber Warfare concept still haunts the international community and till now we have no dedicated Legal Framework for Cyber Warfare at international level.

Till Harmonised Cyber Warfare Legal Framework emerges, piecemeal efforts would try to fill the void in this regard. Not very late NATO requested Cyber Security cooperation form India. We should not wait for others to develop our own Cyber Warfare Capabilities in India. In fact, Cyber Warfare Policy of India must be urgently formulated and immediately implemented. The same must be part and parcel of India’s National Cyber Security Policy.

Cyber Security in India needs to be strengthened keeping in mind the growing cases of Cyber Attacks and Cyber Espionage attacks against India. Even Cyber Warfare against India is well known and is not new. Ensuring 100% cyber security is next to impossible. However, we can minimise Cyber Attacks. India has remained indifferent towards Cyber Security for long. This resulted in poor Cyber Security Capabilities and Expertise. It is only now that India has paid attention to this crucial field and it is still not too late.

India should definitely step up/accelerate its efforts to strengthen Cyber Security along with Traditional National Security Capabilities. Internet and Hidden Internet has opened new frontiers and unforeseen challenges before India. Internet is increasingly been used to not only propagate Terrorism propaganda but also to recruit new Terrorists.

To tackle Terrorists’ use of Internet, International Cooperation amongst Governments, Organisations, Internet companies and telcos could be helpful. For the time being, Cyber Criminals/Terrorists are one step ahead of various Governments and International Cooperation activities.

New technologies have also caused problems for India. For instance, Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VOIP) is one of the technical challenges that Law Enforcement and Intelligence Agencies across the world are finding difficult to tackle. However, of late strong Encryption usage has emerged as more troublesome that VOIP. Further, VOIP can be intercepted in certain circumstances.

Developing of Cyber Security Capabilities and Expertise is immediately required in India. There is also an urgent need to develop both Preventive and Offensive Cyber Security Capabilities of India. The sooner it is done the better it would be for the National Security of India.

Cyber Warfare Policy Of India As Suggested By Visionary Praveen Dalal In 2011

Cyber warfare is a complicated techno legal conflict of laws field that has remained unresolved for more than two decades. India lacks preventive and offensive cyber warfare capabilities despite strong recommendations in this regard by Visionary Praveen Dalal in 2011. Both Congress and BJP are responsible for this mess and negligence.

Cyber Warfare is a concept that is not clear yet. Some believe that there is nothing like Cyber Warfare as there is no involvement of traditional military actions. Others believe that Cyber Warfare is a reality of the present time and future wars would be fought in Cyberspace. Whatever the opinion may be but it is clear that Nations have to protect their Critical ICT Infrastructures and Strategic Computers from growing Cyber Attacks.

Cyber Warfare and Cyber Terrorism are issues that cannot be taken lightly by any Country. From these threats emerge the necessity of having a robust Cyber Security for Defense Forces in India. These issues are important as they strike at the very root of the Critical ICT Infrastructure Protection in India. However, India is not doing the needful in this regard. Cyber War Capabilities should be an Integral Part of Indian National Defense and Security.

India needs a sophisticated and robust Technological Command Centre to defend its global network of computer systems. It must develop both offensive and defensive capabilities under one roof. Strategic information and tactical inputs are essential part of modern warfare that can be lost or gained through Cyber War methods. There is no doubt that India needs good Cyber War Capabilities to meet the growing threats of Cyber Warfare.

Malware are posing significant threat to India yet there is no attention towards Cyber Security in India. For instance, we need Express Legal Provisions and Specified Policies to deal with issues like Denial of Service (DOS), Distributed Denial of Services (DDOS), Bots, Botnets, Trojans, Backdoors, Viruses and Worms, Sniffers, SQL Injections, Buffer Overflows Exploits, etc. Till now India has done nothing in this crucial direction and we are still waiting for the Cyber Security Policy and Strategy of India. Obviously, we have no Cyber Warfare Policy of India as well. Even the Cyber Law of India is weak and ineffective and deserves to be repealed.

The biggest hurdle before curbing Cyber Warfare Threats at the International level is Lack of Harmonisation in this regard. Till now we have no “Internationally Acceptable Definition” of Cyber Warfare. Further, we have no Universally Acceptable Cyber Crimes Treaty as well. There is also no International Cyber Security Treaty. India is not a part of any International Treaty or Conventions regarding Cyber Crimes, Cyber Security, etc.

We cannot have a Cyber Terrorism Policy in India till we have a Cyber Crimes Policy in India, Cyber Security Policy in India other similar Policies. Indian Government must urgently work in this crucial direction as it is the most urgent need of the hour.

Cyber Security Breach Disclosure Norms Are Still Not Implemented In India Since 2014

Cyber security lapses and lack of cyber security expertise in India are exposed on daily basis in India since 2014. However, even in September 2022, cyber security is in a real bad condition. We have lack of dedicated and effective laws on cyber law, cyber security, etc on the one hand and unconstitutional and privacy violating activities of Indian govt on the other.

If this critical condition is not enough, the all is well attitude of Indian govt and Indian stakeholders completes the cycle. It does not matter at all in India if stakeholders do not follow the cyber security rules under the Information Technology Act, 2000. This all is well attitude fills in the cyber security skills and expertise gap in India.

This nexus between Indian govt and other Indian stakeholders is so strong that even if an individual reports any privacy violation, data breach, cyber attack or any cyber security vulnerability, neither CERT-In nor Indian govt takes any action.

Public spirited individuals and cyber security experts are discouraged from reporting cyber security breach incidences as that serves well and protects the status quo of insecure Indian cyberspace. The Digital India project itself suffers from lack of regulatory framework and procedural safeguards.

Visionary Praveen Dalal cautioned successive Indian govts since 2010 about unconstitutional Aadhaar, privacy violating activities, poor cyber law and missing cyber security law, pathetic cyber security of India, e-surveillance and many more issues. Neither Congress nor BJP did anything in this regard till September 2022.

But Perry4Law Organisation (P4LO) and PTLB have launched many good and effective techno legal projects to strengthen Indian cyberspace. These projects ensure privacy protection, data protection, data security, cyber security, civil liberties protection in cyberspace, management of conflict of laws in cyberspace, etc.

P4LO and PTLB also launched world renowned projects for online dispute resolution (ODR), e-courts, TeleLaw, etc to ensure digital empowerment of Indians and global stakeholders. ODR Portal of India has been helping global stakeholders in managing their techno legal regulatory and compliance requirements.

Stakeholders who are actually interested in managing regulatory and compliance in fields like cyber law, cyber security, privacy protection, data protection, internet intermediary compliance, social media compliance, cyber security breach disclosures, etc can contact ODR India Portal to handle the same on their behalf.

All Is Well Attitude Towards Cyber Security Of India Would Be Fatal Warns Visionary Praveen Dalal

India is a sitting duck in cyber security field and there is no doubt about that. Whether it is Congress or BJP, no political party paid the required attention to cyber security of India. Even when any govt tried to do so, industry and businesses have successfully pushed back a proactive cyber security system in India.

For instance, MSMEs of India are still not ready to comply with CERT-In’s cybersecurity rules. The India SME Forum wrote a letter to the govt seeking the 25-09-2022 deadline extension. Even if Modi govt does not allow such an extension, there would not be any material difference in this regard as hardly anybody reports cyber security breaches in India in any case.

From banks to directors of Indian companies, nobody takes cyber security breach reporting seriously. Telecom companies are worst affected as they actively harbour cyber criminals and cyber fraudsters who are exploiting their infrastructure without any fear and legal liabilities.

Authorities like Delhi Police are themselves useless as they lack technical capabilities and expertise to handle technology related crimes. Govt portals are just show pieces with no actual utility. You can report something there but no actual action is ever taken by such portals and authorities handling them. RBI Ombudsman is dead and there is no accountability of Indian banks to ensure robust cyber security for banking systems.

Similarly, Indian banks cannot even keep their servers up and running and expecting them to have secure systems is naive. RBI has done just lip service in this regard and online banking and digital payments are insecure in India. Bank customers are without any remedy except the one provided by Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) Portal of Visionary Praveen Dalal. ODR Portal of India is the only portal that is providing techno legal assistance to global stakeholders.

This all is well attitude for cyber security of India has persisted for almost two decades and no political party has the wisdom to bring the required and necessary changes. We have already lost a great deal of money in India to cyber criminals but the real damage is not even reported in media.

Monetary loss is just one aspect and other more dangerous and complicated aspects would be faced by India very soon. This all is well attitude would prove fatal to India in near future warns Visionary Praveen Dalal.

But if you are a serious player and you love India and its interest, contact ODR India Portal for your complete techno legal regulatory and compliance requirements in India and other jurisdictions. We would manage your cyber security, cyber law, digital evidencing, cyber forensic and many more techno legal regulatory and compliance needs.

Perry4Law Organisation (P4LO) and PTLB are managing the exclusive techno legal Centre of Excellence for Digital India Laws and Regulations in India (CEDILRI) since 2016. It is helping ODR India Portal to manage global techno legal regulatory and legal compliance of global stakeholders. Stay on the right side of law and contact ODR India Portal today for your techno legal regulatory and compliance needs.