The Centre for Internet and Society
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Aadhaar marks a fundamental shift in citizen-state relations: From ‘We the People’ to ‘We the Government’
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/hindustan-times-pranesh-prakash-april-3-2017-aadhaar-marks-a-fundamental-shift-in-citizen-state-relations
<b>Your fingerprints, iris scans, details of where you shop. Compulsory Aadhaar means all this data is out there. And it’s still not clear who can view or use it.</b>
<p>The article was published in the <a class="external-link" href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/what-s-really-happening-when-you-swipe-your-aadhaar-card-to-make-a-payment/story-2fLTO5oNPhq1wyvZrwgNgJ.html">Hindustan Times</a> on April 3, 2017.</p>
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<p style="text-align: center; "><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/Aaadhaar.png" alt="Aadhaar" class="image-inline" title="Aadhaar" /><br />Until recently, people were allowed to opt out of Aadhaar and withdraw consent to have their data stored. This is no longer going to be an option.<br />(Siddhant Jumde / HT Illustration)</p>
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<p style="text-align: justify; ">Imagine you’re walking down the street and you point the camera on your phone at a crowd of people in front of you. An app superimposes on each person’s face a partially-redacted name, date of birth, address, whether she’s undergone police verification, and, of course, an obscured Aadhaar number.<br /><br />OnGrid, a company that bills itself as a “trust platform” and offers “to deliver verifications and background checks”, used that very imagery in an advertisement last month. Its website notes that “As per Government regulations, it is mandatory to take consent of the individual while using OnGrid”, but that is a legal requirement, not a technical one.<br /><br />Since every instance of use of Aadhaar for authentication or for financial transactions leaves behind logs in the Unique Identification Authority of India’s (UIDAI) databases, the government can potentially have very detailed information about everything from the your medical purchases to your use of video-chatting software. The space for digital identities as divorced from legal identities gets removed. Clearly, Aadhaar has immense potential for profiling and surveillance. Our only defence: law that is weak at best and non-existent at worst.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Aadhaar Act and Rules don’t limit the information that can be gathered from you by the enrolling agency; it doesn’t limit how Aadhaar can be used by third parties (a process called ‘seeding’) if they haven’t gathered their data from UIDAI; it doesn’t require your consent before third parties use your Aadhaar number to collate records about you (eg, a drug manufacturer buying data from various pharmacies, and creating profiles using Aadhaar).<br /><br />It even allows your biometrics to be shared if it is “in the interest of national security”. The law offers provisions for UIDAI to file cases (eg, for multiple enrollments), but it doesn’t allow citizens to file a case against private parties or the government for misuse of Aadhaar or identity fraud, or data breach.<br /><br />It is also clear that the government opposes any privacy-related improvements to the law. After debating the Aadhaar Bill in March 2016, the Rajya Sabha passed an amendment by MP Jairam Ramesh that allowed people to opt out of Aadhaar, and withdraw their consent to UIDAI storing their data, if they had other means of proving their identity (thus allowing Aadhaar to remain an enabler).</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">But that amendment, as with all amendments passed in the Rajya Sabha, was rejected by the Lok Sabha, allowing the government to make Aadhaar mandatory, and depriving citizens of consent. While the Aadhaar Act requires a person’s consent before collecting or using Aadhaar-provided details, it doesn’t allow for the revocation of that consent.<br /><br />In other countries, data security laws require that a person be notified if her data has been breached. In response to an RTI application asking whether UIDAI systems had ever been breached, the Authority responded that the information could not be disclosed for reasons of “national security”.<br /><br />The citizen must be transparent to the state, while the state will become more opaque to the citizen.</p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">How Did Aadhaar Change?</h2>
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<p>How did Aadhaar become the behemoth it is today, with it being mandatory for hundreds of government programmes, and even software like Skype enabling support for it?</p>
<p>The first detailed look one had at the UID project was through an internal UIDAI document marked ‘Confidential’ that was leaked through WikiLeaks in November 2009. That 41-page dossier is markedly different from the 170-page ‘Technology and Architecture’ document that UIDAI has on its website now, but also similar in some ways.</p>
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<p style="text-align: justify; ">In neither of those is the need for Aadhaar properly established. Only in November 2012 — after scholars like Reetika Khera pointed out UIDAI’s fundamental misunderstanding of leakages in the welfare delivery system — was the first cost-benefit analysis commissioned, by when UIDAI had already spent ₹28 billion. That same month, Justice KS Puttaswamy, a retired High Court judge, filed a PIL in the Supreme Court challenging Aadhaar’s constitutionality, wherein the government has argued privacy isn’t a fundamental right.</p>
<blockquote class="pullquote" style="text-align: justify; ">Every time you use Aadhaar, you leave behind logs in the UIDAI databases. This means that the government can potentially have very detailed information about everything from the your medical purchases to your use of video-chatting software.</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Even today, whether the ‘deduplication’ process — using biometrics to ensure the same person can’t register twice — works properly is a mystery, since UIDAI hasn’t published data on this since 2012. Instead of welcoming researchers to try to find flaws in the system, UIDAI recently filed an FIR against a journalist doing so.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">At least in 2009, UIDAI stated it sought to prevent anyone from “[e]ngaging in or facilitating profiling of any nature for anyone or providing information for profiling of any nature for anyone”, whereas the 2014 document doesn’t. As OnGrid’s services show, the very profiling that the UIDAI said it would prohibit is now seen as a feature that all, including private companies, may exploit.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">UID has changed in other ways too. In 2009, it was as a system that never sent out any information other than ‘Yes’ or ‘No’, which it did in response to queries like ‘Is Pranesh Prakash the name attached to this UID number’ or ‘Is April 1, 1990 his date of birth’, or ‘Does this fingerprint match this UID number’.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">With the addition of e-KYC (wherein UIDAI provides your demographic details to the requester) and Aadhaar-enabled payments to the plan in 2012, the fundamentals of Aadhaar changed. This has made Aadhaar less secure.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Security Concerns</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">With Aadhaar Pay, due to be launched on April 14, a merchant will ask you to enter your Aadhaar number into her device, and then for your biometrics — typically a fingerprint, which will serve as your ‘password’, resulting in money transfer from your Aadhaar-linked bank account.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Basic information security theory requires that even if the identifier (username, Aadhaar number etc) is publicly known — millions of people names and Aadhaar numbers have been published on dozens of government portals — the password must be secret. That’s how most logins works, that’s how debit and credit cards work. How are you or UIDAI going to keep your biometrics secret?</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In 2015, researchers in Carnegie Mellon captured the iris scans of a driver using car’s side-view mirror from distances of up to 40 feet. In 2013, German hackers fooled Apple iOS’s fingerprint sensors by replicating a fingerprint from a photo taken off a glass held by an individual. They even replicated the German Defence Minister’s fingerprints from photographs she herself had put online. Your biometrics can’t be kept secret.</p>
<blockquote class="pullquote" style="text-align: justify; ">Typically, even if your username (in this case, Aadhaar number) is publicly known, your password must be secret. That’s how most logins works, that’s how debit and credit cards work. How are you or UIDAI going to keep your biometrics secret?</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In the US, in a security breach of 21.5 million government employees’ personnel records in 2015, 5.2 million employees’ fingerprints were copied. If that breach had happened in India, those fingerprints could be used in conjunction with Aadhaar numbers not only for large-scale identity fraud, but also to steal money from people’s bank accounts.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">All ‘passwords’ should be replaceable. If your credit card gets stolen, you can block it and get a new card. If your Aadhaar number and fingerprint are leaked, you can’t change it, you can’t block it.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The answer for Aadhaar too is to choose not to use biometrics alone for authentication and authorisation, and to remove the centralised biometrics database. And this requires a fundamental overhaul of the UID project.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Aadhaar marks a fundamental shift in citizen-state relations: from ‘We the People’ to ‘We the Government’. If the rampant misuse of electronic surveillance powers and wilful ignorance of the law by the state is any precedent, the future looks bleak. The only way to protect against us devolving into a total surveillance state is to improve rule of law, to strengthen our democratic institutions, and to fundamentally alter Aadhaar. Sadly, the political currents are not only not favourable, but dragging us in the opposite direction.</p>
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For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/hindustan-times-pranesh-prakash-april-3-2017-aadhaar-marks-a-fundamental-shift-in-citizen-state-relations'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/hindustan-times-pranesh-prakash-april-3-2017-aadhaar-marks-a-fundamental-shift-in-citizen-state-relations</a>
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No publisherpraneshBiometricsAadhaarInternet GovernancePrivacy2017-04-04T16:10:06ZBlog EntryBengaluru cops' twitter handle in ethical storm
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/the-times-of-india-april-6-2017-umesh-yadav-bengaluru-cops-twitter-handle-in-ethical-storm
<b>The city's privacy activists are among the most strident in trying to prevent the Union government from gaining unprecedented access to citizens' personal information through Aadhaar. But in their own backyard, Bengaluru police have been publishing on Twitter the phone numbers of thousands of citizens reporting various crimes such as gambling on the streets, random quarrels and harassment of women.</b>
<p>The article by Umesh Yadav was <a class="external-link" href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/bengaluru-cops-twitter-handle-in-ethical-storm/articleshow/58042187.cms">published in the Times of India</a> on April 6, 2017. Pranesh Prakash was quoted.</p>
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<p style="text-align: justify; ">The police control room has put out more than 46,000 tweets since April 2015 containing the numbers of complainants calling the emergency number 100. The phone numbers of citizens reaching the control room through Bengaluru police's new emergency <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/topic/mobile-application" target="_blank">mobile application</a>, Suraksha, too are being published through this handle.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Thankfully, the Twitter handle, @BCPCR, had a mere 66 followers as on the evening of April 5, nearly 30 per cent of which were various police stations in the city. On Wednesday evening, the police closed the account for public view. <br /> <br /> ET has screenshots of tweets from the account. A senior police officer at Bengaluru police's Command Control was unapologetic for the breach of privacy. The tweets are generated automatically and meant to `show' the number of calls received by the control room and the number of people using the new app, he said. <br /> <br /> On the matter of compromising the safety of the complainants, the officer said, "It is obvious that the accused will know who registered the complaint and privacy does not matter here." <br /> <br /> Expectedly, privacy and law experts are indignant. <br /> <br /> "This is horrible and unpardonable," said Supreme Court advocate KV Dhananjay. "The fact that the police did not consider it necessary to ask for permission before broadcasting someone's identity shows how insensitive the Police Commissioner's office has become to the privacy concern of our society." Pranesh Prakash, Policy Director at the <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/topic/Centre-for-Internet-and-Society" target="_blank">Centre for Internet and Society</a> and who has been at the forefront of the campaign against any potential misuse of Aadhaar, too said the "police officer who ordered to create such an account should be held responsible if any harm comes to a complainant." <br /> <br /> Complainants ET spoke with were startled about the abuse of their privacy. Gowda, a complainant, who had informed the police control room about the sale of cigarettes within 100 metres of a school, had specifically requested the police to not disclose his identity. <br /> <br /> "(This is why) it is better to keep quiet when you see lawbreakers," he said on hearing that Bengaluru police had published his phone number on Twitter. <br /> <br /> "This is injustice and this is the reason why people are scared to inform the police of crimes. If the accused send people to beat me, what should I do?" Dhanusha had called the control room about some teenagers who were teasing girls at a bus stop. The police arrived and took the boys in. She, too, is now worried. "If the accused get my number, they are going to harass me. The police do not have any right to display our phone numbers in public."</p>
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For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/the-times-of-india-april-6-2017-umesh-yadav-bengaluru-cops-twitter-handle-in-ethical-storm'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/the-times-of-india-april-6-2017-umesh-yadav-bengaluru-cops-twitter-handle-in-ethical-storm</a>
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No publisherpraskrishnaSocial MediaInternet GovernancePrivacy2017-04-07T02:38:24ZNews ItemPrivacy, what? Bengaluru police leaks 46,000 phone numbers on Twitter
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/india-today-neha-vashishth-april-6-2017-privacy-what-bengaluru-police-leaks-phone-numbers-on-twitter
<b>Bengaluru police made the biggest goof up of all time by releasing private information of people who called 100 to complain since April 2015 and was seemingly unapologetic about the breach of privacy.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span> </span></p>
<p>The article by Neha Vashishth was <a class="external-link" href="http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/bengaluru-police-twitter-breach-privacy-phone-numbers/1/922183.html">published by India Today</a> on April 6, 2017. Pranesh Prakash was quoted.</p>
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<p>We all love our privacy, don't we?</p>
<p>We put various locking apps and hide our private pictures on Facebook, Twitter etc and only share what we want the world to see. But sometimes even after our countless efforts, we end up losing our information on the internet. After all, a breach of privacy is the greatest nightmare one can have.</p>
<p>Bengaluru police goofed up too when it came to handling privacy concerns of Bengaluru citizens. The police department posted phone numbers of thousands of citizens on their Twitter handle (@BCPCR) who called 100 and complained against harassment, quarrels, and gambling etc.</p>
<p>The police posted over 46,000 tweets online since April 2015 sharing information of people who called on 100 along with the app known as 'Suraksha' to lodge complaints. The account was made private as soon as the matter escalated<b>.</b></p>
<p>The police was unapologetic regarding the matter and said that the tweets were auto-generated from their twitter handle @BCPCR.</p>
<p>Pranesh Prakash, Policy Director at the Centre for Internet and Society said the "police officer who ordered to create such an account should be held responsible if any harm comes to a complainant."</p>
<p>This not only created a major breach of privacy of complainants but also risked their lives. This incident only proves that privacy and sensitivity of the matter has vanished in today's time.</p>
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For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/india-today-neha-vashishth-april-6-2017-privacy-what-bengaluru-police-leaks-phone-numbers-on-twitter'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/india-today-neha-vashishth-april-6-2017-privacy-what-bengaluru-police-leaks-phone-numbers-on-twitter</a>
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No publisherpraskrishnaInternet GovernancePrivacy2017-04-07T02:57:49ZNews ItemIt’s the technology, stupid
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/the-hindu-businessline-march-31-2017-sunil-abraham-its-the-technology-stupid
<b>Eleven reasons why the Aadhaar is not just non-smart but also insecure.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The article was <a class="external-link" href="http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blink/cover/11-reasons-why-aadhaar-is-not-just-nonsmart-but-also-insecure/article9608225.ece">published in Hindu Businessline</a> on March 31, 2017.</p>
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<p style="text-align: justify; ">Aadhaar is insecure because it is based on biometrics. Biometrics is surveillance technology, a necessity for any State. However, surveillance is much like salt in cooking: essential in tiny quantities, but counterproductive even if slightly in excess. Biometrics should be used for targeted surveillance, but this technology should not be used in e-governance for the following reasons:<br /><br />One, biometrics is becoming a remote technology. High-resolution cameras allow malicious actors to steal fingerprints and iris images from unsuspecting people. In a couple of years, governments will be able to identify citizens more accurately in a crowd with iris recognition than the current generation of facial recognition technology.<br /><br />Two, biometrics is covert technology. Thanks to sophisticated remote sensors, biometrics can be harvested without the knowledge of the citizen. This increases effectiveness from a surveillance perspective, but diminishes it from an e-governance perspective.<br /><br />Three, biometrics is non-consensual technology. There is a big difference between the State identifying citizens and citizens identifying themselves to the state. With biometrics, the State can identify citizens without seeking their consent. With a smart card, the citizen has to allow the State to identify them. Once you discard your smart card the State cannot easily identify you, but you cannot discard your biometrics.<br /><br />Four, biometrics is very similar to symmetric cryptography. Modern cryptography is asymmetric. Where there is both a public and a private key, the user always has the private key, which is never in transit and, therefore, intermediaries cannot intercept it. Biometrics, on the other hand, needs to be secured during transit. The UIDAI’s (Unique Identification Authority of India overseeing the rollout of Aadhaar) current fix for its erroneous choice of technology is the use of “registered devices”; but, unfortunately, the encryption is only at the software layer and cannot prevent hardware interception.<br /><br />Five, biometrics requires a centralised network; in contrast, cryptography for smart cards does not require a centralised store for all private keys. All centralised stores are honey pots — targeted by criminals, foreign States and terrorists.<br /><br />Six, biometrics is irrevocable. Once compromised, it cannot be secured again. Smart cards are based on asymmetric cryptography, which even the UIDAI uses to secure its servers from attacks. If cryptography is good for the State, then surely it is good for the citizen too.<br /><br />Seven, biometrics is based on probability. Cryptography in smart cards, on the other hand, allows for exact matching. Every biometric device comes with ratios for false positives and false negatives. These ratios are determined in near-perfect lab conditions. Going by press reports and even UIDAI’s claims, the field reality is unsurprisingly different from the lab. Imagine going to an ATM and not being sure if your debit card will match your bank’s records.<br /><br />Eight, biometric technology is proprietary and opaque. You cannot independently audit the proprietary technology used by the UIDAI for effectiveness and security. On the other hand, open smart card standards like SCOSTA (Smart Card Operating System for Transport Applications) are based on globally accepted cryptographic standards and allow researchers, scientists and mathematicians to independently confirm the claims of the government.<br /><br />Nine, biometrics is cheap and easy to defeat. Any Indian citizen, even children, can make gummy fingers at home using Fevicol and wax. You can buy fingerprint lifting kits from a toystore. To clone a smart card, on the other hand, you need a skimmer, a printer and knowledge of cryptography.<br /><br />Ten, biometrics undermines human dignity. In many media photographs — even on the @UIDAI’s Twitter stream — you can see the biometric device operator pressing the applicant’s fingers, especially in the case of underprivileged citizens, against the reader. Imagine service providers — say, a shopkeeper or a restaurant waiter — having to touch you every time you want to pay. Smart cards offer a more dignified user experience.<br /><br />Eleven, biometrics enables the shirking of responsibility, while cryptography requires a chain of trust.<br /><br />Each legitimate transaction has repudiable signatures of all parties responsible. With biometrics, the buck will be passed to an inscrutable black box every time things go wrong. The citizens or courts will have nobody to hold to account.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The precursor to Aadhaar was called MNIC (Multipurpose National Identification Card). Initiated by the NDA government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, it was based on the open SCOSTA standard. This was the correct technological choice.<br /><br />Unfortunately, the promoters of Aadhaar chose biometrics in their belief that newer, costlier and complex technology is superior to an older, cheaper and simpler alternative.<br /><br />This erroneous technological choice is not a glitch or teething problem that can be dealt with legislative fixes such as an improved Aadhaar Act or an omnibus Privacy Act. It can only be fixed by destroying the centralised biometric database, like the UK did, and shifting to smart cards.<br /><br />In other words, you cannot fix using the law what you have broken using technology.</p>
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For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/the-hindu-businessline-march-31-2017-sunil-abraham-its-the-technology-stupid'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/the-hindu-businessline-march-31-2017-sunil-abraham-its-the-technology-stupid</a>
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No publishersunilBiometricsAadhaarInternet GovernancePrivacy2017-04-07T12:53:21ZBlog EntryPerumal Murugan and the Law on Obscenity
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/perumal-murugan-and-the-law-on-obscenity
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<p style="text-align: justify; ">On July 5, 2016, the Madras High Court saved Perumal Murugan’s novel, <i>Mathorubhagan</i> from oblivion when it dismissed the claims against Murugan on the grounds of obscenity, spreading disharmony between communities, blasphemy, and defamation and upheld his freedom of expression in <i>S. Tamilselvan & Perumal Murugan versus Government of Tamil Nadu</i>. This judgment has received wide appreciation for its support for freedom of expression. What made it applause-worthy? Do we have reservations with the view of the High Court?</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span>Murugan’s book is about a married couple, Kali and Ponna, who fail to have a child despite decades of their marriage. They succumb to social and familial pressures to allow Ponna (the wife) to participate in a sexual orgy (unrestrained sexual encounter involving many people) at a religious festival (the Vaikasi Car Festival) that takes place in Arthanareeswarar Temple, for begetting a child. The local community claimed that in the book, Murugan denigrated the Arthanareeswarar Temple, the deity, Lord Arthanareeswarar, festivities relating to Vaikasi Car Festival and the women of the Kongu Vellala Gounder community. Some sections of the community believed that the facts in the story were not true and found that the sexual mores associated with the community in the book were offensive.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span>The Court was required to evaluate, whether the novel was obscene (</span><i>Section 292 of Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC)</i><span>), offensive to the community (</span><i>Section 153A of IPC</i><span>) and the religion (</span><i>Section 295 of IPC</i><span>); and whether the State had the responsibility to protect the writer from mob violence on account of his controversial book. The Court held that the book was neither offensive nor did it hurt community or religious sentiments. The Court also held that the State had a positive obligation to protect Murugan against the mob. It would be useful to look at the analysis of the Court in drawing these conclusions and see if we completely agree with it.</span></p>
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<li>The Court relied on the standard for determining obscenity in <a href="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/195958005/"><i>Aveek Sarkar v. State of West Bengal</i></a> wherein, it was held that what is lascivious/appealing to the prurient interest/depraved or corrupt has to be tested using the contemporary ‘community standards. The Court was of the view that the novel was not offensive by the current mores (<i>para 150 and 151</i>). <span>The Court further relied on </span><a href="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1191397/"><i>MF Hussain v. Rajkumar Pandey</i></a><span>, (</span><i>also decided by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul</i><span>) wherein it was held, that while evaluating obscenity in a work, “</span><i>the judge has to place himself in the position of the author in order to appreciate what the author really wishes to convey and thereafter, placing himself in the position of the reader in every age group in whose hand the book is likely to fall, arrive at a dispassionate conclusion</i><span>.”It is necessary to mention here that the community standards test has been criticised by scholars, worldwide, as it is difficult to divorce subjective morality of an individual and ascertain what those standards are. This indeterminacy interferes with the ability of judges to apply these standards. There is established scholarship that says that judges cannot divorce themselves from their subjectivities while evaluating obscenity in work of art or literature and may often reinforce the moral norms of the majority in the society thus crushing the moral standards of the minority. In India, we have a mixed bag of judgments that address the issue of obscenity. Seeing the difficulty in application of the community standards test, it is noteworthy that the ultimate fate of a book, painting or a film is dependent on the morality of an individual judge. In fact, the Court had asked a pertinent question in the judgment, “</span><i>Would it be desirable for the Courts to intervene or should it be left to the readers to learn for themselves what they think and feel of the issue in question?</i><span>” (</span><i>para 136</i><span>) However, it eventually reinforced these standards by applying the existing precedents on obscenity. </span><span>The Court added thatunder Section 292, it was required to first prove whether the novel was obscene at all and only if it was found to be obscene it should be tested within the parameters of exceptionsit would fall under. The Court found that the novel was not obscene. There was no need to evaluate its social character to save it from a ban. While drawing this conclusion, the Court stated that, “</span><i>sex, per se, was not treated as undesirable, but was an integral part right from the existence of civilization</i><span>” (</span><i>para 149</i><span>) and that “</span><i>in our society, we seem to be more bogged down by conservative Victorian philosophy rather than draw inspiration from our own literature and scriptures.</i><span>”The Court also said, “</span><i>there are different kinds of books available on the shelves of book stores to be read by different age groups from different strata. If you do not like a book, simply close it.</i><span>”</span><i>(para 148</i><span>) While this reflects a progressive view of the judges on sexual morality, we have reservations on court’s reliance on ancient literature to justify why sex and its depiction in art or literature is not obscene.</span></li>
<li><span>We appreciate the observations that the Court has made while determining whether the novel hurt community or religious sentiments. The Court has acknowledged the declining tolerance level of the society (</span><i>para 154</i><span>) and stated that “</span><i>any contra view or social thinking is met at times with threats or violent behaviour</i><span>” (</span><i>para 142</i><span>).</span></li>
<li>The Court addressed the issue of harassment of writers and artists at the hands of a mob and held that there should “<i>be a presumption in favour of free speech and expression as envisaged under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India</i>” and emphasized the need for the State to protect those who suffer from hostility of several sections of a society as a consequence of holding a different view (<i>para 175</i>).Citing <i>MF Hussain v. Rajkumar Pandey</i>, the Court said “<i>freedom of speech has no meaning if there is no freedom after speech.</i>”The Court has identified the problematic sphere of mob violence and how it affects freedom of expression. However, we do not agree with what the Court held subsequently. </li>
</ol>
<p style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify; "><span style="text-align: justify; ">Reproducing an extract of the judgment here, </span><span style="text-align: justify; ">“</span><i style="text-align: justify; ">There is bound to be a presumption in favour of free speech and expression as envisaged under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India unless a court of law finds it otherwise as falling within the domain of a reasonable restriction under Article 19(2) of the Constitution of India.” </i><span style="text-align: justify; ">(</span><i style="text-align: justify; ">para 184</i><span style="text-align: justify; ">) </span><span style="text-align: justify; ">The words, “</span><i style="text-align: justify; ">unless a court of law finds it otherwise as falling within the domain of a reasonable restriction under Article 19(2) of the Constitution of India.</i><span style="text-align: justify; ">” indicate that the judiciary has the power to determine whether a certain type of speech could be restricted under Article 19 (2) of the Constitution of India. This understanding is incorrect. </span><span style="text-align: justify; ">The language of Article 19 (2) makes it clear that speech could only be restricted by ‘law’ and judiciary cannot assume the authority to restrict speech. It has the authority to decide the applicability and the constitutionality of the law that restricts speech. The relevant part of Article 19 (2) is reproduced below for reference. </span><i style="text-align: justify; ">“</i><i style="text-align: justify; ">(2) Nothing in sub clause (a) of clause ( 1 ) shall affect the operation of any existing law, or prevent the State from making any law, in so far as such law imposes reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right….</i><span style="text-align: justify; ">” </span><span style="text-align: justify; ">The Court further acknowledged that </span><i style="text-align: justify; ">“the State and the police authorities would not be the best ones to judge such literary and cultural issues, which are best left to the wisdom of the specialists in the field and thereafter, if need be, the Courts”</i><span style="text-align: justify; "> (</span><i style="text-align: justify; ">para 181</i><span style="text-align: justify; ">). The Court thus issued directions to the Government </span><i style="text-align: justify; ">to constitute an expert body to deal with situations arising from such conflicts of views so that an independent opinion is forthcoming, keeping in mind the law evolved by the judiciary</i><span style="text-align: justify; ">(</span><i style="text-align: justify; ">para 181</i><span style="text-align: justify; ">)</span><i style="text-align: justify; ">. </i><span style="text-align: justify; ">There are concerns with this mandate of the Court; firstly, constituting an expert body to resolve conflict of views will not serve any purpose unless there are guidelines to evaluate work. It is difficult to dissociate subjectivity and ascertain objective standards for evaluating offensiveness of literary or artistic work. Secondly, reliance on expert opinion and then courts completely disregards existing law. Under Section 95 of the Code of Criminal Procedure,1973, the Government has the power to declare forfeiture of works which, it considers in violation of section 153A or section 153B or section 292 or section 293 or section 295A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. The power to evaluate a piece of writing or other work has already been given to the government. The Court has created a parallel mechanism for evaluation by giving directions to constitute an expert panel. In the event this mechanism fails to resolve the conflict, it is suggested that courts would then be approached to address the matter. This is in complete disregard of the powers of the Government under Section 95.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span>In the Murugan judgment, the Court has attempted to provide a narrow interpretation of what is considered obscene, emphasized the need for the society to be more tolerant and for State to protect those members of the society who, on account of their views, suffer at the hands of an intolerant society. It is for these reasons, the judgment is, undoubtedly a sound precedent for protection of speech in India. However, it is concerning to see that in drawing these conclusions, the Court has reinforced vague legal standards of obscenity and in that regard, it remains yet another addition to the mixed bag of judgments.</span></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/perumal-murugan-and-the-law-on-obscenity'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/perumal-murugan-and-the-law-on-obscenity</a>
</p>
No publisherJapreet GrewalFreedom of Speech and ExpressionHate SpeechArticle 19(1)(a)Internet Governance2016-08-09T13:01:03ZBlog EntryIn Parts of India, Internet Shutdowns Are a Fact of Life
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/top-10-vpn-megha-bahree-may-21-2019-in-parts-of-india-internet-shutdowns-are-a-fact-of-life
<b>Fears of a censored internet are rising, as the government cites fake news and unlawful content in blocking internet access.
</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The article by Megha Bahree was <a class="external-link" href="https://www.top10vpn.com/news/censorship/in-parts-of-india-internet-shutdowns-are-a-fact-of-life/">published in Top10 VPN</a> on May 21, 2019. Gurshabad Grover was quoted.</p>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In 2017, Faakirah Suraiya Irfan, a lawyer and mental health counselor in the northern Indian state of Kashmir, was online with a patient when the internet went down. In the restive state the government frequently, and without any warning, shuts down the internet, so it was not an unusual occurrence. But for Irfan, who was employed by women’s career networking platform Sheroes to offer online counseling services to its members, the interruption couldn’t have come at a worse time. She was in the midst of talking a patient out of suicidal thoughts.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">“At that point when you lose the network, you just lose the person,” said Irfan. “I’m talking, and I’m in a flow and trying to get them to open up but then in the middle of that the internet is shut down.”</p>
<p>Irfan quit her job after a year because “the work was through the internet and [owing to the frequent network shutdowns] it just wasn’t working.”</p>
<h3>Internet, interrupted</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In the last couple of years India has seen a phenomenal increase in the number of people coming online thanks to an explosion of cheap data and affordable smartphones. With <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/internet-users-in-india-to-reach-627-million-in-2019-report/articleshow/68288868.cms" rel="noopener" target="_blank">more than 500 million people online</a>, it has the second largest number of internet users in the world, after China.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">But that growth has been accompanied by the usual sins of abuse, including a rise in online trolls and the spread of fake news. New Delhi has responded with a heavy hand. It has implemented internet shutdowns, banned apps and blocked hundreds of websites. Unsurprisingly, all of this has led to increasing fears of censorship in the world’s largest democracy.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">India leads the world in the number of internet shutdowns, with over 100 reported incidents in 2018 alone, according to the latest Freedom On The Net <a href="https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/freedom-net-2018/rise-digital-authoritarianism" rel="noopener" target="_blank">report</a>. The study tracks internet freedom in 65 countries, covering 87 percent of the world’s internet users, and addresses internet access, freedom of expression, and privacy issues. The report followed events between June 2017 and May 2018 and India came in as “partly free” with a score of 43 out of 100.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">“There’s a censorship process underway in India,” said Apar Gupta, a lawyer and executive director of Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), an organization that works to defend net neutrality, freedom and privacy. “There’s a complete lack of transparency on what’s being done, why and who’s doing this.”</p>
<h3>Shutdown throughout elections</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">India has just concluded the world’s largest general election with over 900 million people eligible to vote. But ongoing internet shutdowns prevented many people from accessing information as they prepared to cast their ballot.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Over the voting period of April 11 to May 19, the states of Rajasthan, West Bengal and Kashmir reported mobile internet shutdowns. News agency UNI <a href="http://www.uniindia.com/ls-polls-mobile-internet-suspended-in-north-kashmir/die/news/1559832.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">reported</a> that in April, authorities in parts of north Kashmir suspended internet services of all cellular providers in the region as it went to poll. This came two days after a shutdown in another region in Kashmir. The Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC), a legal services organization that aims to protect digital freedom and which <a href="https://internetshutdowns.in/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">tracks internet shutdowns</a> across the country, found there have been 30 shutdowns in the state so far this year, and 40 across the country.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“There’s a complete lack of transparency on what’s being done, why and who’s doing this.” – Apar Gupta</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Shutdowns have a couple of provisions in law, says Gupta. One was <a href="https://www.medianama.com/images/Rules-Temporary-Suspension-of-Telecom-Services-Internet-Shutdowns-Aug-2017.pdf" rel="noopener" target="_blank">passed</a>in 2017 and empowers both the federal and the state government to suspend telecom services, and by extension, internet services. The other – which prohibits public gatherings – dates back to when the British ruled the country. The law was initially used to prevent Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the leader of India’s independence struggle, from organizing protest marches and now is regularly used to restrict internet access. The latter is more frequently used as it allows even local authorities to issue orders for shutdowns without a review process, says Mishi Choudhary, legal director of SFLC.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">IFF’s Gupta says these shutdowns “disturb the constitutional protection for free expression.” He adds: “Such a disproportionate action beyond legal doctrine practically disrupts daily life to a severe degree and causes immense hardship. It provokes anxiety among families who talk to each, causes business losses and reduces the political freedom in a country.”</p>
<h3>History of services suspended</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In India, internet shutdowns began somewhere around 2012, picked up pace from 2015 and peaked in 2018. According to the New Delhi think tank Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, the internet was shut down for a total of 16,315 hours between 2012 and 2017, <a href="https://icrier.org/pdf/Anatomy_of_an_Internet_Blackout.pdf" rel="noopener" target="_blank">costing the economy</a> approximately $3.04 billion.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Shutdowns can be partial—when a specific class of websites are blocked, like all internet messaging sites—or complete when the entire internet is cut off. Kashmir has the dubious honor of the highest number of shutdowns at 155 to date, according to the SFLC.</p>
<p>The longest shutdown in the country occurred in Kashmir in the summer of 2016 after a local rebel was killed that July. Mobile internet services were suspended for 133 days. While internet services on postpaid connections were restored by November, users with prepaid connections got their internet access back only in January 2017, nearly six months after they had been cut off.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The second longest suspension of internet services took place in Darjeeling in eastern India in June 2017 during a local secessionist agitation. Initially, just the mobile internet services were shut off but within a couple of days, the broadband services were cut off as well, according to SFLC’s tracker. Ultimately there were no internet services in Darjeeling for a total of one hundred days.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In both cases, it wasn’t clear who ordered the shutdown, as reflected in local <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/kashmir-internet-ban-no-one-knows-who-ordered-the-shutdown-shows-rti/story-db6f78xiCysL3iTDIY8x8H.html">media</a> <a href="https://sflc.in/rti-darjeeling-internet-ban-3-months-and-counting" rel="noopener" target="_blank">reports</a>. Typically, shutdowns happen without any warning and in most cases the only explanation offered is that services were suspended “as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order”.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In a country where internet usage has risen dramatically in the last few years, the shutdowns have been “a blunt instrument to bring the digital economy to its knees and deprive the citizens the freedom to communicate,” says Choudhary.</p>
<blockquote class="quoted">In the summer of 2016, mobile internet in Kashmir was shut off for four months.</blockquote>
<h3>India’s data explosion</h3>
<p>It was a new telecom entrant that drastically changed the dynamics of the country’s internet access, and brought vast numbers of people online.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In September 2016, Reliance Industries, which is owned by India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, launched 4G network Jio. The network allowed subscribers to use internet plans to make calls, send text messages or browse the internet, and it jump-started the business by offering its services for free initially. Once it started charging for data, its rates were incredibly cheap. A year later it offered low-cost 4G handsets for a refundable security deposit of $22. In 2018 it offered a 4G phone for a third of that price. The strategy helped it gain millions of users, and encouraged the transition from feature phones to smartphones, giving users easy access to the internet.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“The internet shutdowns are a blunt instrument to bring the digital economy to its knees.” – Mishi Choudhary</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Rajakumari Dayamenti, a native of Sabantongba village in the north eastern state of Manipur, was one such user. Before Jio set up a cellphone tower in her village, Dayamenti plugged a 10-meter-long USB extension cord into a Huawei modem that she stuck on her rooftop, creating her own mini tower to get online.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Cheap data and the millions of new users also ensured the rise of apps, with entertainment becoming one of the biggest drivers. Users in the big Indian cities have flocked to the same apps as their peers across the globe, including Apple Music, Spotify, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook and WhatsApp. In the smaller cities, however, consumers have turned to more local and regional social networking apps like ShareChat and to apps that offer free content like Wynk, Gaana and Hotstar, Star India’s mobile and digital entertainment platform. For news, users turn to Facebook as well as UC News and Dailyhunt.</p>
<h3>Disrupting daily life</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Lateef Mushtaq, a native of Kashmir who is pursuing an undergraduate degree in technology in Delhi, has experienced internet disruptions countless times, he says. Mushtaq was on a two-week internship in Kashmir last July with state-owned telecom company BSNL to measure internet speeds in different areas when the internet was shut down. The company had to extend the internship to six weeks so he could complete the project.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">More recently in February he was home and was scheduled to take an exam online when a suicide bomber blew up a convoy of vehicles carrying security personnel, killing at least 40 in an area called Pulwama. India blamed archenemy and the neighboring state of Pakistan, which denied the allegations.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In the midst of escalating tensions between the two nuclear armed neighbors, the internet speed in Mushtaq’s area was reduced to 2G. But he still had to take his exam, a frustrating experience as he found that the same page was being reloaded after he would submit his responses instead of moving forward to the next set of questions.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">“I was submitting my answers, but it kept going back to the previous page,” he says. “I kept answering the same questions again and again.” Mushtaq couldn’t finish the paper and scored 63 percent on it. He says he could’ve done much better.</p>
<p>“In Delhi the internet is never shut down so when it happens to me now, I feel like I’m locked down in a single room without access to the world,” he says.</p>
<h3>Finding any available network</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">While mobile phone services are disrupted frequently, the government occasionally spares the state-run BSNL as the armed forces also use this service. Mushtaq has in the past tried to get a BSNL broadband connection but without success. These connections are prized possessions and Kashmiri teenagers develop hacking skills early in an effort to ride on any broadband network when the government shuts their mobile services down.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">“If we hear about a house with broadband, we try to crack the password,” admits Mushtaq. Networks that are secured on WiFi Protected Access (WPA) security standard are easy to crack and there are several apps on the Google play store that help with that, says Mushtaq.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">When it’s just some sites or apps have been blocked, Mushtaq and his friends have turned to virtual private networks (VPNs) or proxy services to find a way around the blocks, he says.</p>
<blockquote>
<p class="p1">Internet shutdowns have cost India’s economy approximately $3.04 billion</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">But during a complete shutdown none of these workarounds do the trick, as Musthtaq found last year. He had to drive to another part of Kashmir where the internet was still working to check his score for an important entrance exam. Once he got the signal on his phone, he pulled up and sat on the roadside waiting for the website to load.</p>
<p>Similarly, during the 100-day shutdown in Darjeeling, Nirmal Tamang drove his daughter on his motorcycle more than 40 miles to another city where the internet was working so she could fill forms online to apply for undergraduate studies.</p>
<h3>Battling ‘unlawful’ content</h3>
<p>Rumors or provocative messaging on social media and instant messaging platforms have often been cited as reasons to order internet restrictions.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">One critical issue involved the spate of mob attacks in India in the past couple years, fueled by widely circulated messages such as reports of strangers abducting children.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">According to an <a href="https://www.indiaspend.com/child-lifting-rumours-33-killed-in-69-mob-attacks-since-jan-2017-before-that-only-1-attack-in-2012-2012/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">analysis</a> by IndiaSpend, a data journalism website, between January 1, 2017, and July 5, 2018 33 people were killed and at least 99 injured in 69 reported cases of mobs attacking people they suspected were planning to abduct children. In all the cases, the charges turned out to be baseless, with 77 percent of the reports based on fake news that had spread through social media.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">With at least 200 million users in India, WhatsApp was one of the mediums through which these rumors spread, and in the aftermath of the violence, came to be a poster child for fake news.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">New Delhi responded by asking the platform to take responsibility for the messages circulating on it, stating: “Such a platform cannot evade accountability and responsibility especially when good technological inventions are abused by some miscreants who resort to provocative messages which lead to spread of violence.” It added, “WhatsApp must take immediate action to end this menace and ensure that their platform is not used for such mala fide activities.” (In response, last July WhatsApp introduced a limit in India on the number of times a user could forward a message to five. It has now imposed that limit on <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-whatsapp/facebooks-whatsapp-limits-text-forwards-to-five-recipients-to-curb-rumors-idUSKCN1PF0TP" rel="noopener" target="_blank">the rest of the world</a> as well.)</p>
<p>Since then, the Indian government has proposed rules that would force internet companies to remove content from their platforms. In late December, it issued a <a href="http://meity.gov.in/writereaddata/files/Draft_Intermediary_Amendment_24122018.pdf" rel="noopener" target="_blank">draft policy</a> of rules intended to curb the misuse of social media and stop the spreading of fake news.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Apar Gupta likens the government’s proposal to “Chinese style censorship that would weaken free expression”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Under the policy, the government has proposed an amendment to Section 79 of India’s IT Act, which would require internet companies to take down content deemed inappropriate by authorities. And if a company receives a complaint from a law enforcement agency, it would be required to trace and report it within 72 hours and to disable that user’s access within 24 hours. Should this amendment go through, it would effectively break the end-to-end encryption that secures user communications on platforms like WhatsApp.</p>
<p>Another recommendation in the draft policy says that internet companies will have to purge their platforms of “unlawful” content. However, the policy doesn’t clearly define what makes something “unlawful”, raising concerns that the clause could be easily abused by authorities to remove any content they wish.</p>
<p>Internet companies and privacy advocates say the new measures, if implemented, pose a threat to free speech and would encourage censorship.</p>
<p>It’s “plainly unconstitutional,” says Gurshabad Grover, policy officer at the Centre for Internet and Society, a nonprofit organization. “By mandating online platforms to detect and remove “unlawful content” through automation, the draft rules shift the burden of judging whether content is legal from the state to private organizations. They will only lead to a great chilling effect on speech, and a regime of online censorship regulated by private parties,” he says.</p>
<p>IFF’s Gupta likens the proposal to “Chinese style censorship that would weaken free expression standards” and his organization has asked for a complete rollback of the proposal.</p>
<h3>Website censorship on the rise</h3>
<p>Large-scale disruptions and intentional slowdowns are not the only tools employed by the government to exert control over the internet. Specific websites and apps are also sporadically blocked.</p>
<p>In April 2017, in the wake of massive student protests in Kashmir, the state government <a href="https://twitter.com/nazir_masoodi/status/857192374975549440" rel="noopener" target="_blank">banned access</a> to 22 social media apps including Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, Snapchat, Skype, Telegram and WeChat, for a month.</p>
<p>Two experts at the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=21604&LangID=E" rel="noopener" target="_blank">said</a> the restrictions had “a significantly disproportionate impact on the fundamental rights of everyone in Kashmir,” and that they “fail to meet the standards required under international human rights law to limit freedom of expression.”</p>
<p>Another crackdown targeted the country’s 827 porn websites. In India it is not illegal to watch porn privately and the country has the dubious honor of being the world’s <a href="https://www.pornhub.com/insights/2018-year-in-review#countries" rel="noopener" target="_blank">third-biggest porn watching country</a>. Unsurprisingly, the ban didn’t fully succeed.</p>
<p>Within days of the government order, Pornhub, one of the biggest adult content sites, had launched a mirror website for India with an altered web address. Other workarounds in use included VPN or proxy services such as hide.me, hidester, and whoer.net. As per a TorrentFreak <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/pornhub-deploys-mirror-site-to-bypass-indian-porn-ban-while-vpn-searches-spike-181029/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">report</a>, the search for VPNs shot up in the days after the ban. Users also <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india-bans-porn-pornhub-uc-browser-ways-around-it/articleshow/66412436.cms" rel="noopener" target="_blank">switched to different browsers</a> such as Alibaba’s UC Browser or the Opera browser where the banned sites could still be accessed.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Privacy advocates say the government’s amends to internet policy, if implemented, would encourage censorship.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Most recently, an Indian court banned China’s Beijing Bytedance Technology Co.-owned music and video app TikTok which had been downloaded by nearly 300 million users in India.</p>
<p>The ban came on the heels of a handful of incidences—a 24-year-old man in the southern city of Chennai <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/24-yr-old-commits-suicide-after-being-bullied-for-dressing-up-as-a-woman/story-8PlWvf0fMwcd72A5Tp8tBI.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">reportedly</a> committed suicide on being harassed for posting videos of himself dressed as a woman. Soon after, a member of a local political party of Chennai’s home state of Tamil Nadu declared that the younger generation was <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/tik-tok-causing-cultural-degeneration-tamil-nadu-minister-calls-for-ban-on-chinese-video-app/story-IPBcJtITxHgmFhRe4qhfLO.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">hooked on</a> TikTok and getting pushed onto the path of cultural degradation. In response, a state minister promised to seek the federal government’s help to ban the app.</p>
<p>A Tamil Nadu court then <a href="https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/tiktok-mobile-application-download-prohibited-144046" rel="noopener" target="_blank">banned downloads of the app</a> and forbade the media from showing videos from the app, stating: “The dangerous aspect is that inappropriate contents including language and pornography are being posted in the TikTok App. There is a possibility of children contacting strangers directly […] Without understanding the dangers involved in these kinds of Mobile Apps, it is unfortunate that our children are testing with these Apps.”</p>
<p>After TikTok responded that <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tiktok-india-exclusive/exclusive-chinas-bytedance-says-india-tiktok-ban-causing-500000-daily-loss-risks-jobs-idUSKCN1RZ0QC" rel="noopener" target="_blank">it was experiencing a daily financial loss</a> of $500,000 and 250 jobs had been put at risk, the ban was eventually lifted, at which point the app’s downloads <a href="https://qz.com/india/1610408/downloads-surge-as-tiktok-logo-returns-to-google-apple-in-india/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">surged</a>.</p>
<h3>No reason for some blocks</h3>
<p>However, not all website and app bans are justified, explained or commented upon by the government. In August 2018, for example, the country’s telecom minister informed parliament that since January 2016, the Department of Telecom had asked internet service providers to ban 11,045 websites, news agency Press Trust of India <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/direction-to-block-over-11000-websites-issued-since-jan-2016-manoj-sinha/articleshow/65325416.cms" rel="noopener" target="_blank">reported</a>. Yet the minister didn’t offer any explanations on why these websites had been targeted.</p>
<p>One site that has been blocked on multiple occasions is the Internet Archive, also known as the Wayback Machine. In the past few months, other sites that have been banned include audio streaming site SoundCloud, encrypted messaging service Telegram, and graphic design website Behance, among others. According to IFF’s Gupta, the reasons for the blocks are not disclosed.</p>
<p>Internet service providers have become the de facto enforcers of the government’s digital concerns.</p>
<p>In January, IFF received several complaints from users that they couldn’t access Reddit. The IFF then invited users to fill an online form to share the list of sites and VPNs that they were unable to access. By late March it had received nearly <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1O5ToesR8HCcH6bmP_s7s5jN6YlYw4t4l-ovCpmY7xyc/edit#gid=1822363676">200 responses</a> from across the country. Reddit frequently appeared, as did several other major platforms including Spotify, Alexa.com, SoundCloud, Telegram and several VPNs. The largest number of complaints came from those who were Reliance Jio customers, followed by Airtel.</p>
<p>An Airtel Spokesperson said that the company “supports an open internet and does not block any content on its network unless directed by the authorities/court in accordance with the applicable law.”</p>
<p>A Jio spokesperson declined to comment.</p>
<h3>To save India’s open internet</h3>
<p>Gupta calls these “core net neutrality violations,” as internet service providers are legally obliged to provide equal access to all internet content. This, he says, “ultimately results in a very different version of the internet from the global commons and allows the ISPs, even sometimes political interests, to become gatekeepers to access of information.”</p>
<p>While India has net neutrality rules in place – thanks to a massive campaign in 2015 called Save the Internet – the problem, says Gupta, is a lack of enforcement. “A policy fix is required to enforce net neutrality rules,” he says.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In March, IFF relaunched a campaign for an open internet, asking users to report net neutrality violations and sign a petition asking the Department of Telecom and the country’s telecom regulator to introduce a clear enforcement mechanism. Some of these efforts are showing signs of success already, says Gupta, as the regulator is considering issuing a consultation paper on enforcing net neutrality.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Internet service providers have become the de facto enforcers of the government’s digital concerns.</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Kushal Das, an India-based member of the Tor Project and a developer at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, says telecom companies like Jio block all VPNs so they retain insights into users’ browsing preferences that can be useful for advertisers.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">“If you use a VPN, Jio will not know your taste in food, et cetera,” says Das. But Tor software can bypass these blocks and the number of Tor users in India has shot up three times since October 2017 to roughly 60,000 now, says Das.</p>
<p>“We should be able to ask people in power why blockades are being implemented,” says Das.</p>
<h3>Policy points to restrictions</h3>
<p>However, the Narendra Modi-led government has been keen to bring in rules for greater control over data and the internet.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In February, the government <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghabahree/2019/02/26/indias-battle-for-control-of-data-from-e-commerce/#3640449b4131" rel="noopener" target="_blank">proposed</a> a draft national e-commerce policy that sees data as “a collective resource” or a “national asset” that the government holds in trust but which can be auctioned off, like a coal mine. The draft also cautioned that this belongs to Indians and cannot be extended to foreigners.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">IFF’s Gupta says the fact that the very framework of its drafting has not been made sufficiently public is worrying. “It may all seem very dull and dry but … any platform changes, any changes to government policy in India will reflect in demand in Europe and America eventually,” he says, due the large internet user base in India.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">For now, in the days after a general election, all these policy proposals are on hold and it’s not clear how soon a new government would turn its attention to internet policies.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The one thing that activists can take some relief in is the fact that the government has acknowledged at least some of the internet shutdowns in the country were implemented without sufficient cause. In December, the Department of Telecom, <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/12ZNVwUGuAo879ABql4BHT8ZBjO-r8Qcc/view" rel="noopener" target="_blank">in response</a> to a request for information filed by IFF, said that “frequent internet suspension orders were being issued by various State governments… even in situations where it is not warranted.” It added that it had asked all state governments to “sensitize concerned officials/agencies” against such actions.</p>
<p>It’s anyone’s guess how long that pause will last.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/top-10-vpn-megha-bahree-may-21-2019-in-parts-of-india-internet-shutdowns-are-a-fact-of-life'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/top-10-vpn-megha-bahree-may-21-2019-in-parts-of-india-internet-shutdowns-are-a-fact-of-life</a>
</p>
No publisherMegha BahreeInternet Governance2019-05-27T15:43:53ZNews ItemData Empowerment And Protection Architecture (DEPA) Workshop
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/data-empowerment-and-protection-architecture-depa-workshop
<b>On 18 May 2019 Pranav Manjesh Bidare attended a workshop on the Data Empowerment And Protection Architecture (DEPA) organised by the iSPIRT Foundation.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The workshop provided an introduction to the planned architecture for licensed account aggregators that are a part of the rollout of DEPA across the finance and telecom sectors. This account aggregator infrastructure aims to enable users to access their data more easily, and also enable them to manage consent concerning the sharing of their data. For more details <a class="external-link" href="https://pn.ispirt.in/depa-workshop-on-18th-may/">see here</a>.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/data-empowerment-and-protection-architecture-depa-workshop'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/data-empowerment-and-protection-architecture-depa-workshop</a>
</p>
No publisherAdminInternet Governance2019-05-28T02:15:14ZNews ItemConsilience 2019
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/consilience-2019
<b>The Law and Technology Society at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore organised Consilience on May 25, 2019.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Gurshabad Grover was a panelist on the discussion on 'Online Content Regulation: Global Perspectives and Solutions'. The other panelists were Jyoti Panday (Telecom Centre of Excellence) and Alok Prasanna Kumar (Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy). The session was moderated by Divij Joshi. Gurshabad's contributions centered around the interplay of content moderation, regulation and competition issues. He also discussed the disharmony between the recommendations of the UN Special Rapporteur on FoE and developing legal norms of regulation. Akriti Bopanna gave her inputs to Gurshabad Grover.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/consilience-2019'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/consilience-2019</a>
</p>
No publisherAdminFreedom of Speech and ExpressionInternet Governance2019-06-05T07:25:08ZNews ItemPicking ‘Wholes’ - Thinking in Systems Workshop
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/picking-2018wholes2019-thinking-in-systems-workshop
<b>A System's Thinking masterclass was conducted by Dinesh Korjan on 27th and 28th May in the CIS Delhi office.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">It was organised as part of the Digital Identity project to explore the use of system’s thinking approach in a digital identity system, and addressing questions of policy choices and uses, while creating such a system. The workshop was attended by Amber Sinha, Ambika Tandon, Anubha Sinha, Pooja Saxena, Radhika Radhakrishnan, Saumyaa Naidu, Shruti Trikanad, Shyam Ponappa, Sumandro Chattapadhyay, Sunil Abraham, Swati Gautam, and Yesha Paul.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Dinesh Korjan is a proponent of the strategic use of design for the larger good. He is a product designer and co-founder of Studio Korjan in Ahmedabad. He complements his practice with active engagement in academics and teaches at many leading design schools including NID, Ahmedabad, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Gandhinagar, Srishti School of Art Design & Technology, Bangalore, and CEPT University, Ahmedabad.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The masterclass was aimed at learning to address complex problems using systems thinking approach. It involved experiential and collaborative learning through discussions, and doing and making activities. The workshop began with identifying different actors, processes, institutions, and other entities involved in a complex problem. The method of role-playing was introduced to learn to detail out and map the problem. Concepts such as synergy/ emergence, relationships, and flows were introduced through examples and case studies. These concepts were applied while mapping complex problems to find insights such as patterns, purposes, feedback loops, and finally a leverage. The workshop also introduced the idea of ephemeralization. Participants were prompted to find solutions that require least input but have greatest impact.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">For further reading <a class="external-link" href="http://cis-india.org/internet-governance/files/picking-wholes">click here</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/picking-2018wholes2019-thinking-in-systems-workshop'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/picking-2018wholes2019-thinking-in-systems-workshop</a>
</p>
No publishersaumyaaInternet GovernanceDigital IDDigital Identity2019-06-05T14:35:35ZBlog EntryMay 2019 Newsletter
https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/may-2019-newsletter
<b>The Centre for Internet & Society Newsletter for the month of May 2019</b>
<h2><span>Highlights for May 2019</span></h2>
<table class="listing">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Omidyar Network is <a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/appropriate-use-of-digital-identity-alliance-announcement">investing in in establishing a three-region research alliance</a> co-led by the Institute for Technology & Society, Brazil , the Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law, Kenya, and the Centre for Internet & Society (CIS), India on appropriate use of Digital Identity. CIS will look at the policy objectives of digital identity projects, how technological policy choices can be thought through to meet the objectives, and how legitimate uses of a digital identity framework may be evaluated.</li>
<li>The term Fintech is generally used to describe innovative technology and technological processes being used in the financial services sector. Vipul Kharbanda has <a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/vipul-kharbanda-may-8-2019-an-analysis-of-rbi-draft-framework-on-regulatory-sandbox-for-fintech">presented a detailed analysis of RBI’s Draft Framework on Regulatory Sandbox for Fintech</a>.</li>
<li>Centre for Internet & Society's 'Access to Knowledge' wing (CIS-A2K) <a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/mou-between-pah-solapur-university-and-cis">signed a MoU with PAH Solapur University, Maharashtra</a> to promote content generation in Wikimedia projects among the institutions under University affiliation and develop a platform in the university for outreach programs on digital knowledge, language and technologies, FOSS, unicode, etc.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Timely and affordable access to scientific research remains a problem in this digital day and age. Most countries including India, continue to struggle with implementing open access. The latest international initiative (created in Europe) to remedy this problem is Plan S. This has been positioned as a strategy to implement immediate open access to scientific publications from 2021 which India is considering adopting. Anubha Sinha <a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/should-india-adopt-plan-s-to-realise-open-access-to-public-funded-scientific-research">in an article unpacks the disorderly growth of open access in India, and discusses the gap between the Plan's vision and current Indian scenario in some respects</a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Shweta Mohandas was nominated to curate <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/curating-genderlog-indias-twitter-handle">Genderlog's Twitter handle (@genderlogindia)</a>. She tweeted <span style="text-align: justify; ">about topics related to gender and data, more specifically around AI, big data, privacy and surveillance.</span></li>
<li>Sumandro Chattapadhyay and Tim Davies <a href="https://cis-india.org/openness/open-data-and-land-ownership">co-authored a chapter titled Open Data and Land Ownership in State of Open Data book </a>which was recently launched at World Bank. The authors have thrown light on how the lessons from the land ownership field highlight the political nature of data, and illustrate the importance of politically aware interventions when creating open data standards, infrastructure, and ecosystems.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The Bodies of Evidence collection, edited by Bishakha Datta and Richa Kaul Padte, is a collaboration between Point of View and CIS as part of the Big Data for Development Network supported by International Development Research Centre, Canada. Can data ever know who we really are? <a href="https://cis-india.org/raw/zara-rahman-can-data-ever-know-who-we-really-are">This is an excerpt from an essay by Zara Rahman, written for and published as part of the Bodies of Evidence collection of Deep Dives</a>.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<ul>
</ul>
<h3><span>CIS and the News</span></h3>
<p>The following news pieces were authored by CIS and published on its website in May:</p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/hindustan-times-may-1-2019-aayush-rathi-and-ambika-tandon-how-privacy-fares-in-the-2019-election-manifestos">How privacy fares in the 2019 election manifestos | Opinion </a>(Aayush Rathi and Ambika Tandon; May 1, 2019).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/business-standard-may-1-2019-shyam-ponappa-democracy-digital-india-and-networks">Democracy, Digital India and Networks</a> (Shyam Ponappa; Business Standard; May 1, 2019). </li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/hindustan-times-may-2-2019-gurshabad-grover-why-the-tik-tok-ban-is-worrying">Why the TikTok ban is worrying</a> (Gurshabad Grover; Hindustan Times; May 2, 2019).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/raw/indian-express-may-19-2019-nishant-shah-digital-native-three-things-we-need-to-realise-about-what-tik-tok-is-doing-to-us">Digital Native: Narendra Modi’s interview by Akshay Kumar is a PR masterpiece</a> (Nishant Shah; Indian Express; May 5, 2019).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/the-wire-arindrajit-basu-may-8-2019-will-the-wto-finally-tackle-the-trump-card-of-national-security">Will the WTO Finally Tackle the ‘Trump’ Card of National Security?</a> (Arindrajit Basu; The Wire; May 8, 2019).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/raw/indian-express-may-19-2019-nishant-shah-digital-native-three-things-we-need-to-realise-about-what-tik-tok-is-doing-to-us">Digital Native: Three things we need to realise about what TikTok is doing to us</a> (Nishant Shah; Indian Express; May 19, 2019).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/openness/open-data-and-land-ownership">Open Data and Land Ownership</a> (Sumandro Chattapadhyay; State of Open Data; May 22, 2019).</li>
<li><span><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/can-evm-vulnerabilities-be-used-to-game-the-indian-election">Can EVM vulnerabilities be used to game the Indian election?</a> (Karan Saini; Kaarana Blog; May 22, 2019).</span></li>
<li><span><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/indian-express-may-30-2019-gurshabad-grover-the-huawei-bogey">The Huawei bogey </a>(Gurshabad Grover; Indian Express; May 30, 2019).<br /></span></li>
</ul>
<div></div>
<ul>
</ul>
<h3>CIS in the News</h3>
<p>CIS was quoted in these news articles published elsewhere:</p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/economic-times-may-2-2019-tushar-kaushik-cyber-criminals-hide-in-the-dark-web-to-remain-anonymous">Cyber criminals hide in the ‘dark web’ to remain anonymous </a>(Tushar Kaushik; Economic Times; May 2, 2019).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/hindustan-times-vidhi-choudhary-may-3-2019-bjp-outspends-congress-others-in-social-media-advertising">BJP outspends Congress, others in social media advertising</a> (Vidhi Choudhary; Hindustan Times; May 3, 2019).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/biometric-update-may-8-2019-three-emerging-market-think-tanks-to-collaborate-on-good-id-recommendations-with-omidyar-backing">Three emerging market think tanks to collaborate on Good ID recommendations with Omidyar backing</a> (Chris Burt; Biometric Update; May 8, 2019).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/newsclick-martin-moore-may-20-2019-aadhaar-reduced-agency-in-citizens-and-empowered-those-in-positions-of-authority">"Aadhaar Reduced Agency in Citizens and Empowered Those in Positions of Authority"</a> (Martin Moore; News Click; May 20, 2019).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/top-10-vpn-megha-bahree-may-21-2019-in-parts-of-india-internet-shutdowns-are-a-fact-of-life">In Parts of India, Internet Shutdowns Are a Fact of Life</a> (Megha Bahree; Top10VPN; May 21, 2019).</li>
<li><span><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/artificial-intelligence-consumer-experiences-in-new-technologies">Artificial Intelligence: Consumer Experiences in New Technologies</a> (Consumer International; May 28, 2019).<br /></span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
</ul>
<div></div>
<ul>
</ul>
<div></div>
<h2><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k">Access to Knowledge</a></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Our Access to Knowledge programme currently consists of two projects. The Pervasive Technologies project, conducted under a grant from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), aims to conduct research on the complex interplay between low-cost pervasive technologies and intellectual property, in order to encourage the proliferation and development of such technologies as a social good. The Wikipedia project, which is under a grant from the Wikimedia Foundation, is for the growth of Indic language communities and projects by designing community collaborations and partnerships that recruit and cultivate new editors and explore innovative approaches to building projects.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Copyright & Patent</h3>
<p><strong>Blog Entry</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/should-india-adopt-plan-s-to-realise-open-access-to-public-funded-scientific-research">Should India adopt Plan S to realise Open Access to Public-funded Scientific Research?</a> (Anubha Sinha; May 29, 2019).</li>
</ul>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Wikipdedia</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As part of the <a href="http://cis-india.org/a2k/access-to-knowledge-program-plan">project grant from the Wikimedia Foundation</a> we have reached out to more than 3500 people across India by organizing more than 100 outreach events and catalysed the release of encyclopaedic and other content under the Creative Commons (CC-BY-3.0) license in four Indian languages (21 books in Telugu, 13 in Odia, 4 volumes of encyclopaedia in Konkani and 6 volumes in Kannada, and 1 book on Odia language history in English).</p>
<p><strong>Blog Entries</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/subodh-kulkarni-may-3-2019-wikipedia-assignments-workshop-for-pg-students-pah-solapur-university">Wikipedia assignments workshop for Post Graduate students in PAH Solapur University</a> (Subodh Kulkarni; May 3, 2019).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/subodh-kulkarni-may-26-2019-wikisource-workshop-at-vigyan-ashram">Wikisource Workshop at Vigyan Ashram, Pabal</a> (Subodh Kulkarni; May 26, 2019)</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/mou-between-pah-solapur-university-and-cis">MoU between PAH Solapur University & CIS-A2K</a> (Subodh Kulkarni; May 31, 2019). </li>
</ul>
<p><span><strong>Jobs</strong></span></p>
<p>CIS-A2K team is seeking applications for the following posts:</p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/cis-a2k-communication-officer-position">Communication Officer</a></li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/project-tiger-2019-coordinator-position-open">Project Tiger 2019 Coordinator</a></li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/wikidata-advisor-consultant-position-open">Wikidata Advisor</a> (Consultant)</li>
</ul>
<h3><span>Events </span></h3>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/events/train-the-trainer-2019-at-vishakhapatnam">Train-the-Trainer 2019</a> (Organized by CIS-A2K; Vishakhapatnam; May 31 - June 2, 2019).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/events/wikimedia-education-saarc-conference">Wikimedia Education SAARC conference</a> (Organized by Christ University (Deemed to be University) with the association of CIS-A2K; Christ University; Bangalore; June 20 - June 22, 2019).</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Media Coverage</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/news/vishwavihar-may-13-2019-ahmedabad-wikisource-workshop">Ahmedabad Wikisource Workshop</a> (Vishwavihar; May 13, 2019).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/news/northeast-now-may-17-2019-youths-come-forward-to-augment-assamese-wikisource-project">Youths come forward to augment Assamese Wikisource project</a> (NE Now News; May 17, 2019).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/news/economic-times-tushar-kaushik-may-28-2019-wikipedia-looks-to-ramp-up-its-indian-language-content">Wikipedia looks to ramp up its Indian language content</a> (Tushar Kaushik; May 28, 2019).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/news/economic-times-may-29-2019-tushar-kaushik-project-tiger">Project Tiger: Wikipedia ropes in locals to contribute articles in Indian languages</a> (Tushar Kaushik; May 29, 2019).</li>
</ul>
<h3>Openness</h3>
<p><strong>Publication</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/openness/open-data-and-land-ownership">Open Data and Land Ownership</a> (State of Open Data; Sumandro Chattapadhyay; May 22, 2019).</li>
</ul>
<h3><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance">Internet Governance</a></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As part of its research on privacy and free speech, CIS is engaged with two different projects. The first one (under a grant from Privacy International and IDRC) is on surveillance and freedom of expression (SAFEGUARDS). The second one (under a grant from MacArthur Foundation) is on restrictions that the Indian government has placed on freedom of expression online.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Digital Identity</h3>
<p><strong>Announcement</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/appropriate-use-of-digital-identity-alliance-announcement">Announcement of a Three-Region Research Alliance on the Appropriate Use of Digital Identity</a> (Amber Sinha; May 13, 2019).</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Event Organized</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/picking-2018wholes2019-thinking-in-systems-workshop">Picking ‘Wholes’ - Thinking in Systems Workshop</a> (Organized by CIS; New Delhi; May 27 - 28, 2019).</li>
</ul>
<h3><span>Gender</span></h3>
<div>
<p><strong>Blog Entry</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/ambika-tandon-may-9-2019-workshop-on-feminist-information-infrastructure">Workshop on Feminist Information Infrastructure</a> (Ambika Tandon; edited by Gurshabad Grover and designed by Saumyaa Naidu; May 9, 2019).</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Free Speech</h3>
<p><strong>Participation in Events</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/stockholm-internet-forum-2019">Stockholm Internet Forum 2019</a> (Organized by Stockholm Internet Forum 2019; Stockholm; May 16 - 17, 2019). Gurshabad Grover was a panelist in the discussion on 'Influencing Internet Governance' co-organised by Article 19.</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/consilience-2019">Consilience 2019</a> (Organized by the Law and Technology Society; National Law School of India University, Bangalore; May 25, 2019). Gurshabad Grover was a panelist on the discussion on 'Online Content Regulation: Global Perspectives and Solutions'.</li>
</ul>
<h3><span>Privacy</span></h3>
<p><strong>Research Paper</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/vipul-kharbanda-may-8-2019-an-analysis-of-rbi-draft-framework-on-regulatory-sandbox-for-fintech">An Analysis of the RBI’s Draft Framework on Regulatory Sandbox for Fintech</a> (Vipul Kharbanda; May 8, 2019).</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Participation in Events</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/data-empowerment-and-protection-architecture-depa-workshop">Data Empowerment And Protection Architecture (DEPA) Workshop</a> (Organized by iSPIRT Foundation; May 18, 2019). Pranav Manjesh Bidare attended the workshop. </li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/abli-privacy-workshop">ABLI Privacy Workshop</a> (Organized by Asian Business Law Institute; Singapore; May 21 - 22, 2019). Elonnai Hickok participated in the event.</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/hillhacks-2019">HillHacks 2019</a> (Organized by HillHacks; Bir, Himachal Pradesh; May 24 - 26, 2019). Karan Saini was a speaker.</li>
</ul>
<h3><span>Artificial Intelligence</span></h3>
<p><strong>Participation in Events</strong></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/society-5-0-and-artificial-intelligence-with-a-human-face">Society 5.0 and Artificial Intelligence with a Human Face</a> (Organized by Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations; India Habitat Centre, New Delhi). Radhika Radhakrishnan attended a roundtable consultation.</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/ai-for-good-workshop">AI for Good Workshop</a> (Organized by Swissnex India and Wadhwani AI; Bangalore; May 22, 2019).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/mwc19-shanghai-ai-and-trust-in-apac-and-china">MWC19 Shanghai AI and Trust in APAC and China</a> (Organized by Digital Asia Hub; MWC Shanghai; June 27, 2019). Sunil Abraham will be making a presentation at the summit on AI and Trust in APAC and China. Sunil has been invited as a speaker on panel ‘Framing AI for Digital Upstarts’.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Cyber Security</h3>
<p>Participation in Event</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/shining-light-into-darkness-encouraging-greater-transparency-of-government-offensive-practices-in-cyberspace">Shining light into darkness: Encouraging greater transparency of government offensive practices in cyberspace</a> (Organized by Rights Con; Tunis; June 12, 2019). Sunil Abraham will be attending a conversation on encouraging greater transparency of government offensive practices in cyberspace. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
</ul>
<ul>
</ul>
<div></div>
<h2><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/telecom">Telecom</a></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The growth in telecommunications in India has been impressive. While the potential for growth and returns exist, a range of issues need to be addressed for this potential to be realized. One aspect is more extensive rural coverage and the second aspect is a countrywide access to broadband which is low at about eight million subscriptions.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Article</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/business-standard-may-1-2019-shyam-ponappa-democracy-digital-india-and-networks">Democracy, Digital India and Networks</a> (Shyam Ponappa; Organizing India Blogspot; May 1, 2019).</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Participation in Event</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/telecom/news/live-closed-trai-open-house-discussion-on-ott-regulation-delhi">Live [Closed]: TRAI Open House Discussion on OTT Regulation - Delhi</a> (Organized by TRAI; New Delhi; May 20, 2019). Anubha Sinha attended the event.</li>
</ul>
<h3><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/raw">Researchers at Work (RAW)</a></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Researchers at Work (RAW) programme is an interdisciplinary research initiative driven by an emerging need to understand the reconfigurations of social practices and structures through the Internet and digital media technologies, and vice versa. It aims to produce local and contextual accounts of interactions, negotiations, and resolutions between the Internet, and socio-material and geo-political processes:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Essay</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/raw/zara-rahman-can-data-ever-know-who-we-really-are">Can data ever know who we really are?</a> (Zara Rahman; May 22, 2019).</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Blog Entries</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://medium.com/rawblog/war-driving-in-lhasa-vegas-2771b502910b">War Driving in Lhasa Vegas</a> (Oxblood Ruffin; May 11, 2019).</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://medium.com/rawblog/dotbharatadoption-95cf90b6079f">#DotBharatAdoption</a> (Dr. Amit Prakash, K.A. Dayanand, Dr. Srinivasan Ramani, Dr. V. Sridhar, and Vivek Pani; May 11, 2019).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://medium.com/rawblog/materialisingwriting-b0a3e9ebe7">#MaterialisingWriting</a> (Dibyadyuti Roy, Indrani Roy, Padmini Ray Murray, and Puthiya Purayil Sneha; May 21, 2019). </li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://medium.com/rawblog/the-shadow-that-social-media-casts-the-doubled-offlines-of-online-sociality-aa1fbbbb2ec6">The Shadow that Social Media Casts: The Doubled Offlines of Online Sociality</a> (Karandeep Mehra; May 21, 2019).</li>
</ul>
<ul>
</ul>
<hr />
<h2><a class="external-link" href="http://cis-india.org/">About CIS</a></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) is a non-profit organisation that undertakes interdisciplinary research on internet and digital technologies from policy and academic perspectives. The areas of focus include digital accessibility for persons with disabilities, access to knowledge, intellectual property rights, openness (including open data, free and open source software, open standards, open access, open educational resources, and open video), internet governance, telecommunication reform, digital privacy, and cyber-security. The academic research at CIS seeks to understand the reconfigurations of social and cultural processes and structures as mediated through the internet and digital media technologies.</p>
<p>► Follow us elsewhere</p>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Twitter:<a href="http://twitter.com/cis_india"> http://twitter.com/cis_india</a></li>
<li>Twitter - Access to Knowledge: <a href="https://twitter.com/CISA2K">https://twitter.com/CISA2K</a></li>
<li>Twitter - Information Policy: <a href="https://twitter.com/CIS_InfoPolicy">https://twitter.com/CIS_InfoPolicy</a></li>
<li>Facebook - Access to Knowledge:<a href="https://www.facebook.com/cisa2k"> https://www.facebook.com/cisa2k</a></li>
<li>E-Mail - Access to Knowledge: <a>a2k@cis-india.org</a></li>
<li>E-Mail - Researchers at Work: <a>raw@cis-india.org</a></li>
<li>List - Researchers at Work: <a href="https://lists.ghserv.net/mailman/listinfo/researchers">https://lists.ghserv.net/mailman/listinfo/researchers</a></li>
</ul>
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<p>► Support Us</p>
<div>Please help us defend consumer and citizen rights on the Internet! Write a cheque in favour of 'The Centre for Internet and Society' and mail it to us at No. 194, 2nd 'C' Cross, Domlur, 2nd Stage, Bengaluru - 5600 71.</div>
<p>► Request for Collaboration</p>
<div>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">We invite researchers, practitioners, artists, and theoreticians, both organisationally and as individuals, to engage with us on topics related internet and society, and improve our collective understanding of this field. To discuss such possibilities, please write to Sunil Abraham, Executive Director, at sunil@cis-india.org (for policy research), or Sumandro Chattapadhyay, Research Director, at sumandro@cis-india.org (for academic research), with an indication of the form and the content of the collaboration you might be interested in. To discuss collaborations on Indic language Wikipedia projects, write to Tanveer Hasan, Programme Officer, at <a>tanveer@cis-india.org</a>.</p>
<div style="text-align: justify; "><i>CIS is grateful to its primary donor the Kusuma Trust founded by Anurag Dikshit and Soma Pujari, philanthropists of Indian origin for its core funding and support for most of its projects. CIS is also grateful to its other donors, Wikimedia Foundation, Ford Foundation, Privacy International, UK, Hans Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and IDRC for funding its various projects</i>.</div>
</div>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/may-2019-newsletter'>https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/may-2019-newsletter</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaInternet GovernanceAccess to Knowledge2019-06-26T01:40:33ZPageOnline gag:Existing rules give little freedom
https://cis-india.org/online-gag
<b>Even as the controversy over Kapil Sibal's attempt to get internet giants such as Google and Facebook to prescreen user-generated content to weed out 'offensive' material rages, a yet-to-be-published study by Bangalore-based Centre for Internet and Society reveals that rules already in place can have "chilling effects on free expression on the internet".</b>
<p>The study set out to examine if the Information Technology
(Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules 2011, notified in April 2011, could
create a gagging effect on websites that provide a platform for
user-generated content in the form of opinion and comments. Websites
such as Facebook, Yahoo, YouTube and Twitter fall under this category.
The study was commissioned by the Centre for Internet and Society, which
was invited to comment on the department of information technology when
it framed the seminal Information Technology Act 2000.</p>
<p>The study author set out to test the process of 'takedown'
(requesting an internet entity to remove material that can be
interpreted as 'hateful', 'disparaging', 'defamatory', etc) by notifying
seven separate internet entities of content linked to their websites or
hosted by them that could, in very loose terms, be deemed offensive.
The entities are not named in the study.</p>
<p>This first-of-a-kind experiment included actions such as sending
search engines a takedown notice alerting it to results on searching the
keywords 'online gambling' and alerting a news website about comments
on a news story related to the Telangana dispute.</p>
<p>In six of the seven cases, the intermediaries and hosts - technical
terms for websites that host content - acted promptly to not only remove
the 'offensive' content without due processes of investigation but in
some cases went beyond their brief to remove all content connected with
the one mentioned in the takedown notice.</p>
<p>For instance, a news website that was sent a takedown notice about a
well-argued and non-abusive comment to an article on the Telangana issue
took down not just that comment, but all 15 comments published below
the article In the case of the results of a search for 'online
gambling', despite the fact that intermediaries are exempted from being
implicated in such cases, one search engine notified took down not just
the three links mentioned in the notice but another 25 sub-domains as
well, "presumably to avoid legal risk and to err on the side of
caution," the CIS report says.</p>
<p>"Our criticism is of the policy and not of the websites and Internet
entities that are forced to err on the side of caution when faced by
such notices," says Sunil Abraham, executive director, Centre for
Internet and Society. "We are aware that they do not always have the
legal and manpower resources necessary to monitor the enormous volumes
of content they host." These companies often overstep their brief in
order to avoid legal hassles resulting from what Abraham calls
"unconstitutional limits on free speech".</p>
<p>The original story was published by the Times of India on 9 December 2011. Sunil Abraham was quoted in it. Read the story on Times of India <a class="external-link" href="http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIBG/2011/12/09&PageLabel=12&EntityId=Ar01201&ViewMode=HTML">here</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/online-gag'>https://cis-india.org/online-gag</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaFreedom of Speech and ExpressionInternet Governance2011-12-12T05:42:05ZNews ItemGoldenEye ransomware attack hit operations at Pipavav Port, JNPT
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/livemint-june-28-2017-jyotika-sood-utpal-bhaskar-golden-eye-ransomware-attack-hit-operations-at-pipavav-port-jnpt
<b>Shipping ministry says the GoldenEye ransomware attack at JNPT and Pipavav port may result in bunching of inbound and outbound cargo.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The article by Jyotika Sood and Utpal Bhaskar was <a class="external-link" href="http://www.livemint.com/Industry/mh9nxJNR2NRgFh5zKThhqK/Jawaharlal-Nehru-Port-Trust-said-to-be-affected-as-cyberatta.html">published in Livemint</a> on June 28, 2017. Pranesh Prakash was quoted.</p>
<hr style="text-align: justify; " />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Operations at one of three terminals at India’s largest container port, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) run by AP Moller-Maersk, near Mumbai, were disrupted by a global ransomware attack, the port said on Wednesday. The version that caused the disruption has been dubbed GoldenEye by security firm Bitdefender Labs.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Operations at the Danish firm’s terminal at Gujarat Pipavav Port were also affected, but by the Petya variant of the ransomware.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Ransomware typically logs users out of their own systems and asks them to pay a ransom if they want to access the encrypted data.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">“The central server is in Europe which we can’t control. It is not a problem aimed at India... we have become collateral damage,” said a senior Indian government official involved in cybersecurity operations.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The ransomware hit the integrated transport and logistics firm’s global operations on Tuesday across its 75 terminals. It also impacted Chernobyl’s radiation monitoring system, law firm DLA Piper, pharma firm Merck, a number of banks, an airport, the Kiev metro, British advertising giant WPP and Russian oil firm Rosneft, according to Bitdefender Labs.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">“The IT (information technology) department of JNPT became aware of the attack at around 4.30pm on Tuesday. The Windows server started conking off and the master file got encrypted and we couldn’t access any data. The operations immediately came to a standstill,” said a JNPT official requesting anonymity.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">AP Moller-Maersk operates the Gateway Terminals India (GTI) at JNPT which has a capacity to handle 1.8 million standard container units. JNPT, which ships more than half the containerized cargo passing through India’s ports, serves a vast hinterland comprising all of northern and western India.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">“While DP World and JNPT terminals are operational, the Gateway Terminals India operated by APM is completely shut,” said the JNPT official.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This is the second major ransomware attack since May after hackers exploited a loophole that was first identified by the US National Security Agency, to create WannaCry, that affected several businesses in more than 150 countries including India.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The ministry of corporate affairs and the Andhra Pradesh Police were affected, besides several large organizations..</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">“While the terminal operator is taking steps to address the issues disrupting operations, it is anticipated that there could be bunching of in-bound and out-bound container cargo,” India’s shipping ministry said in a statement.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Maersk group, through its terminal and infrastructure business, has invested $800 million in India.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">“The global attack has impacted APM terminal of the JNPT port. The operations at the terminal have slowed down and are being entered manually. We are trying to handle the crisis by diverting traffic to other terminals,” JNPT chairman Anil Diggikar said, adding that JNPT’s operations have not been affected to a great extent.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">He said it would take around 24 hours to clear the backlog.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Gujarat Pipavav Port told stock exchanges that the ransomware did not have “any major impact on the company at this point in time”.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Concerns have been expressed about the safety of India’s infrastructure projects with power generation and transmission projects figuring high on terrorist threat lists.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Ravi Shankar Prasad, minister of electronics and information technology, on Wednesday said advisories have been issued and the government is keeping a close watch on developments.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), the agency coordinating efforts on cybersecurity issues, in a 27 June advisory warned, “It has been reported that variants of Petya ransomware with work-like capabilities are spreading.”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Such attacks pose a grave threat to the economy and businesses. Cybersecurity Ventures <a href="http://bit.ly/2sfWYPd" target="_blank">predicts </a>global annual cybercrime costs will grow from $3 trillion in 2015 to $6 trillion by 2021.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Experts believe India is ill-equipped to face such attacks.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">“These cases of malware attacks highlight the need for proper planning of cybersecurity at all levels, especially for the government infrastructure networks,” said Pranesh Prakash, policy director at the Centre for Internet and Society, a Bengaluru-based think tank.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">“Transportation and shipping companies are ill-prepared for cyberattacks,” added Amit Jaju, executive director, fraud investigation and dispute services, EY.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The emergency playing out at the ports assumes significance, given India’s Rs8 trillion investment plan until 2035 under the Sagarmala programme, which involves the construction of new ports to harness the country’s 7,517km coastline and setting up of as many as 142 cargo terminals at major ports.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">“Indian companies lose approximately Rs40,000 crore due to cybercrime every year. India is among the top 5 countries today in terms of the frequency and the number of cyber attacks,” Jaju said.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">“We are not prepared at all. This is a question of cyber literacy because the latest attack has reused the same Windows vulnerability that was exploited by WannaCry ransomware last month and for which security patches were released almost three months ago by Microsoft,” added cybersecurity expert Mohit Kumar.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><i>Anirudh Laskar, Mayank Aggarwal, Shally Seth & Komal Gupta contributed to the story.</i></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/livemint-june-28-2017-jyotika-sood-utpal-bhaskar-golden-eye-ransomware-attack-hit-operations-at-pipavav-port-jnpt'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/livemint-june-28-2017-jyotika-sood-utpal-bhaskar-golden-eye-ransomware-attack-hit-operations-at-pipavav-port-jnpt</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaInternet Governance2017-07-06T22:53:13ZNews ItemSecond India China Think-Tank Forum
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/second-india-china-think-tank-forum
<b>The second India-China Think-Tank Forum was held in Beijing from June 22 to 27, 2017. The Forum was jointly organized by the Institute of Chinese Studies, the Indian Council of World Affairs, and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Saikat Dutta represented an Indian think tank. </b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Forum was set up following an MoU between India and China during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015. The idea of the forum is to explore contentious issues and new areas of cooperation between India and China as a Track 1.5 dialogue. <a class="external-link" href="http://niasindiainchina.in/2017-06-25/the-second-india-china-think-tank-forum-was-held/">Read More</a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="http://cis-india.org/internet-governance/files/2nd-china-india-think-tank-forum-report">Click here</a> for the report</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="http://cis-india.org/internet-governance/files/cybersecurity-threat-or-opportunity">Click</a> to read Saikat Dutta's presentation</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/second-india-china-think-tank-forum'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/second-india-china-think-tank-forum</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaInternet Governance2017-07-07T02:43:09ZNews ItemFreedom of Expression on the Internet : Possibilities and Challenges
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/freedom-of-expression-on-the-internet-possibilities-and-challenges
<b>Sharat Chandra Ram was a speaker at an international seminar organized by Bolivar Technological University, Cartagena in Colombia on June 29, 2017. The theme of the seminar was ‘Freedom of Expression on the Internet : Possibilities and Challenges”.
</b>
<p>For more info on the event, <a class="external-link" href="http://www.unitecnologica.edu.co/noticias/libertad-de-expresion-en-internet-posibilidades-y-desafios">click here</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/freedom-of-expression-on-the-internet-possibilities-and-challenges'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/freedom-of-expression-on-the-internet-possibilities-and-challenges</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaFreedom of Speech and ExpressionInternet Governance2017-07-09T02:30:32ZNews ItemAct now to protect yourself against future ransomware attacks
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/business-standard-july-5-2017-sanjay-kumar-singh-act-now-to-protect-yourself-against-future-ransomware-attacks
<b>There was Wannacry, then Petya, and several other lesser-known ones: With ransomware attacks coming thick and fast, get proactive about protecting yourself.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The article by Sanjay Kumar Singh was published by <a class="external-link" href="http://www.business-standard.com/article/markets/act-now-to-protect-yourself-against-future-attacks-117070400742_1.html">Business Standard</a> on July 5, 2017.</p>
<hr style="text-align: justify; " />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Wannacry ransomware attack in May was followed by the Petya attack last week. This attack affected the Ukrainian government and large corporates like Maersk and Merck. In India it affected the operations of terminals at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), operated by Maersk. According to Kaspersky Lab, the rate of ransomware attacks on businesses grew from one every 120 seconds in January 2016 to one every 40 seconds by October that year. The rate of attack on individuals' computers rose from one every 20 seconds to one every 10 seconds over this period. Today, it has become imperative for everyone, including entrepreneurs and small business owners, to learn how to defend themselves against such attacks. <br /><br />A trend witnessed in 2016 was the growth of ransomware-as-a-service business model. "Code creators offer their malicious product on demand, selling uniquely modified versions to criminals who then distribute it through spam and websites, paying a commission to the creator," says Altaf Halde, managing director, Kaspersky Lab (South Asia). He adds that the growth of cashless payments in India will undoubtedly attract the attention of cyber criminals and lead to more attacks in future. <br /><br />Next, let us turn to how ransomware works. An operating system (OS) is a large and complicated piece of software with millions of lines of software code. A malware exploits vulnerabilities within the OS to infiltrate it. An infiltration can happen in multiple ways: if you download a malicious email attachment, visit a code-carrying web site, via an infected pen drive, and so on.<br /><br />Ransomware is a form of malware that encrypts the files in a critical part of the computer, such as My Documents or Desktop, where people usually store their files. It could also encrypt specific file types, say, such .doc files. The user is then informed that his files have been encrypted along with the warning that unless he pays up within the next few hours his files will be deleted. Says Udbhav Tiwari, policy officer at the Centre for Internet and Society, Bengaluru: "You first have to first pay the attackers using anonymous money like bitcoins and then they give you the key for decrypting your files."<br /><br />A ransomware attack can be dealt with in two ways: either pay the money and get the files unlocked, or find a way to circumvent the encryption. The latter option can, however, take a fair bit of time.</p>
<table class="grid listing">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>
<p>Safeguard measure you should adopt</p>
</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><br />
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Back up important files regularly. Check periodically that these files have not got damaged</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Enable ‘Show file extensions’ option in Windows settings. Stay away from extensions like “exe”, “vbs” and “scr”. Many <a href="http://www.howtogeek.com/137270/50-file-extensions-that-are-potentially-dangerous-on-windows/" target="_blank">familiar file types can be dangerous</a> as scammers use multiple extensions (like hot-chics.avi.exe or doc.scr)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">If you discover an unknown process on your machine, cut off the Internet connection immediately</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">If you have been infected, find the name of the ransomware. If it's an older version, your files can be restored. For restoration tools visit <a href="https://www.nomoreransom.org/" target="_blank">https://www.nomoreransom.org/</a></li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Among the safeguard measures you should adopt, first and foremost, never open a suspicious file. By being vigilant you can avoid a lot of ransomware attacks.<br /><br />Most malware exploit vulnerabilities within the OS. "These vulnerabilities are frequently patched by the creators of the OS. But if people use pirated OS, or don't upgrade it regularly, they could land in trouble," says Tiwari. Soon after the Wannacry attack, Microsoft had issued a patch. People who updated their computers immediately didn't get affected by it. Also, use the latest version of an OS.<br /><br /> Use a quality antivirus (AV) solution, which is usually one you have to pay for. A high-quality AV can even protect you against vulnerabilities not patched by the OS manufacturer. AVs scan files. If they detect patterns indicating the presence of malware, they lock them apart from the rest of the computer, thereby preventing them from spreading.<br /><br /> One option is to use an OS that is less vulnerable, like Mac and Linux. Fewer malware are designed for these OS as fewer people use them.<br /><br />Finally, if your files do get encrypted, don’t pay the ransom, unless instant access to those files is critical. "Each payment only fuels this unlawful business," says Halde.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/business-standard-july-5-2017-sanjay-kumar-singh-act-now-to-protect-yourself-against-future-ransomware-attacks'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/business-standard-july-5-2017-sanjay-kumar-singh-act-now-to-protect-yourself-against-future-ransomware-attacks</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaInternet Governance2017-07-10T14:46:14ZNews Item