Digital weakness

    To have a digital infrastructure without security and privacy protection is like inviting a thief to steal from us. India along with the world is on the verge of digitising into an uncertain future where hacking, manipulating data, planting virus, malware, worms, trojans, spyware and so on becomes very common and the privacy of individuals and security of organisations including the country becomes paramount.

    In this transition, we are about to witness many ups and downs concerning various issues. While some of the nations like China have developed state of the art technology like quantum computing and quantum communication using the concept of quantum entanglement, India is now toddling with supercomputers and digital communication. Due to the difference in technology; the cost, quantity and quality of any service will vary and this will give rise to a competition which we cannot compete with if we don't take steps now.

    Hacking has become a major concern worldwide. Each country has its own cyber security expert team and they continuously monitor cyber crimes. But it seems that our government websites are less equipped with security as we recently saw the hacking of all the data of COVID-19 patients in Delhi. Such exposure of data on a large scale can be a serious threat to the unity and integrity of the nation as well.

    The government has taken a right step in banning some of the Chinese apps which used to illegally steal users data and create their psychological profile. But this is just the first step. We saw a Ransomeware in the recent past which just locks a digital system and asks for a ransom to unlock it, and failing to pay will result in complete loss of data. Some of the banks and organisations were affected by Wannacry ransomware and Petya affecting the seaport. These attacks signal the danger that our digital security is facing.

    Investment in digital infrastructure including blockchain and Artificial intelligence will reap us benefits after 3 to 5 years. There needs to be a vision for digital infrastructure which is inclusive of security and privacy. Supreme court in the Puttaswamy vs Union of India declared that Right to privacy is a fundamental right under article 21. We need to make this fundamental right more justiciable and also the privacy and the security of the country to maintain the unity and integrity of the nation and move along the scientific lines with the rest of the world.