The invisible enemy

Saturday, August 18, 2012
Shiba Nanda Basu

The future belongs to cyber criminals," was how a senior officer of Kolkata Police expressed his dismay after nabbing a Nigerian national who had cheated a city-based businessman by sending him fraudulent e-mails.

Ahead of the Olympics, London's Metropolitan Police received a number of complaints from people who had been inundated with emails informing them that they had won an "Olympic Lottery." The letters were fraudulently signed off by "Reverend Green" who is in fact a Games official. In all cases, the recipients were asked to ring a certain telephone number to stake their claim.

But Metropolitan Police acted quickly and established it was a cyber scam. It soon posted a warning on its website that reads: "This is a scam. If you have received such a letter or e-mail do not respond in any way. You may wish to report the matter to Action Fraud via the internet by visiting actionfraud.org.uk."

Quick response and investigation are all that is needed to crack such cases. The Cyber Crime Investigation Cell of Mumbai Police that was inaugurated on December 2000 likes to remind itself and the people its serves: "The invisible criminal is more dangerous than the visible one. He uses technology as his weapon."

The assertion makes it clear how the cloak-and-dagger game is going to be reinvented in future. It seems the virtual enemy is set to obliterate stereotypes and flummox conventional crime experts. With the cyber crime graph climbing steadily, next-level policing is needed badly.

What makes the challenge enormous is that while crime tends to be nationally defined and policing locally delivered, the canvas for Internet-related offence is globalised and transnational.

A discussion draft of the National Cyber Security Policy prepared by the government of India's department of information technology reads: "The security of cyber space is not an optional issue but an imperative need in view of its impact on national security, public safety and economic well-being." But information technology (IT) experts have always complained that India's National Cyber Security Policy was never considered integral to national security despite increasing cyber attacks on India, especially on government sites.

Militant groups have sent loud and clear messages with repeated hacking but the government is yet to pay enough attention to either cyber law or cyber security-related issues. The IT sector feels that the country still lacks a defined cyber security policy.

While Kolkata Police is still governed by colonial sensibilities when it comes to crime fighting, its London counterpart has not only modernised and reformed itself, but has also kept itself abreast of changing cyber crime patterns. The website of London's Metropolitan Police has all safeguards incorporated in the site itself to tackle cyber crime.

Also, the website not only invites citizens to register their complaints but also has a mechanism in place to focus on the unique dimension of each case. London's Met website also provides links to citizens so that they can share their experiences, register grievances and read up on the modern trends in cyber crime Online. The website also lists the kind of cases probed by MP with detailed suggestions on taking appropriate, exemplary protection.

In the USA, the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) is "responsible for implementing the Department's national strategies in combating computer and intellectual property crimes worldwide." It prevents, investigates, and prosecutes computer crimes by working with other government agencies, the private sector, academic institutions, and foreign counterparts. It relies extensively on Infra-Gard which at its most basic level is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the American private sector.

It is an association of businesses, academic institutions, state and local law enforcement agencies, and other participants dedicated to sharing information and Intelligence to prevent hostile acts against the USA. Such extensive collaboration and effort are the need of the hour to rein in a burgeoning crime that is "invisible" in the true sense of the word.

The recent spate of cyber attacks on Indian government sites underscores the need to pay more attention to cyber security in India. Cyber crime can prove as dangerous as any terrorist attack. Sensitive information stored in computers of strategic Indian departments and ministries can easily be obtained by hackers.

A report prepared by the Indian audit and accounts department has recently revealed that many government establishments in West Bengal are using pirated software that pose great threat to internal security. The software giant, Microsoft, has been consistently warning against the use of pirated software, saying such a practice jeopardises sensitive information.

Since pirated software needs no code, it is vulnerable to third party interference. But as government officials are not aware of such cyber threats, the practice continues unabated.

In India, not only critical infrastructure protection is needed but in order to combat cyber crime effectively, it is necessary to adopt a critical information and communications technology infrastructure protection (CIIP) protocol as European countries have. Our policymakers must do this at the earliest. Such a protocol helps in cyberspace and information and communications technology crises management and management of cyber terrorism.

Unlike Western countries, there is no collaborative effort to tackle cyber crime in India. The Indian government is yet to crawl out of the paperwork stage and frame a definitive cyber policy. A small example will illustrate to what extent India still remains behind the times. A look at the New Crime Trends section of the Kolkata Police website reveals that some conventional transgressions continue to enjoy the distinction while cyber crime variants are conspicuous by their absence from the roster.

If police organisations of the 21st century are unable to reinvent themselves with the changing times, cyber criminals are only waiting to have the last laugh.
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Source http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=246556