Centre for Internet and Society

Roundtable on Cyber-security and the Private Sector

pranav — 2018-10-15T09:18:35Z

The Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) invites you to a roundtable discussion on cyber-security and the private sector. The event will be held at Omidyar Network office in Bangalore from 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m.

An increased proliferation of cyber attacks from multiple vectors and a variety of actors has necessitated a multi-stakeholder response to cyber-security that requires private sector involvement, both at the policy and technical fields. This contribution has come in the recent past not only through active involvement at the domestic levels but also through norm-setting in the international arena.

This symposium seeks to discuss the various cyber-security concerns in the Indian private sector and maps initiatives being undertaken by various actors towards furthering cyber-security in an attempt to identify challenges, points of tension, brainstorm solutions-thereby mapping the way forward through engagement not only with private sector actors but also in dialogue with civil society and policy-makers. CIS has undertaken some preliminary research in this area to further discussion in this area and serve as a forum for sharing perspectives for various stakeholders.

The symposium will be divided into three sessions, broadly in the form of a roundtable with different modus operandi in each session.

A Concept Note for the event can be found here, and the agenda can be found here. If you would like to attend, please rsvp pranav@cis-india.org, or register here.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/roundtable-on-cyber-security-and-the-private-sector

Symposium on India’s Cyber Strategy: Opportunities and Challenges

pranav — 2018-08-30T07:50:38Z

CIS is organising a symposium on India's Cyber Strategy in New Delhi on the 31st of August, 2018, with Ambassador Asoke Mukerji (former Permanent Representative to the United Nations) delivering the keynote address.

Global discourse on cyber security has become increasingly fragmented since the inability of the UN GGE 2017 to arrive at a consensus report. Various initiatives, comprised both of state and civil society actors have attempted to pick up the pieces and galvanize consensus despite core ideological differences between states on the nature of cyberspace itself. CIS has undertaken some preliminary research in this space- in the form of a paper on the norms formulation process that was published by the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace (GCSC) and a set of briefs on the substantive aspect of norms and standards of International Law that could drive India’s strategy in relation to the United Nations Group of Governmental Experts (UN-GGE) process.

The standards of international law combined with strategic considerations drive a nation's approach to any norms formulation process. With the cyber norms formulation efforts in a state of flux, India needs to advocate a coherent position that is in sync with the standards of international law while also furthering India's strategic agenda as a key player in the international arena. Further, norms, saliencies and pragmatic strategic considerations would also drive the formulation of a credible cyber doctrine that underpins the approach undertaken by various regulatory bodies, including the military, sectoral regulators and the private sector.

Exchange of ideas between government officials, private sector actors and research organisations will help formulate India’s strategic agenda. This symposium endeavours to delve into certain thorny questions in the norms formulation process and explore how India should approach these issues-both while framing domestic policy and engaging globally.

RSVP: pranav@cis-india.org

Concept Note

Agenda:

1:00pm to 2:00pm: Scene Setting - Keynote Address by Amb. Asoke Mukerji. and Presentation of Research by CIS

2:00pm to 3:00pm: Lunch

3:00pm to 4:30pm: Moderated Panel Discussion - Speakers: Geetha Hariharan (CCG), Amb. Asoke Mukerji, Parminder Singh (IT for Change), Madhulika Srikumar (ORF)

4:30pm to 4.50pm: Tea

4:50pm to 6:00pm: Extended Comments and Questions from Audience

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/symposium-on-india2019s-cyber-strategy-opportunities-and-challenges

Cyber Norms Concept Note

pranav — 2018-08-20T06:59:36Z

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/cyber-norms-concept-note

Cybersecurity

pranav — 2018-08-13T11:32:57Z

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/cybersecurity

AI and Governance Case Study pdf

pranav — 2018-08-01T02:06:47Z

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/ai-and-governance-case-study-pdf

Normative Regulation of Cyber Space Report

pranav — 2018-07-31T23:42:42Z

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/files/normative-regulation-of-cyber-space-report

The Potential for the Normative Regulation of Cyberspace: Implications for India

pranav — 2018-07-31T23:49:47Z

Author: Arindrajit Basu Edited by: Elonnai Hickok, Sunil Abraham and Udbhav Tiwari Research Assistance: Tejas Bharadwaj

The standards of international law combined with strategic considerations drive a nation's approach to any norms formulation process. CIS has already produced work with the Research and Advisory Group (RAG) of the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace (GCSC), which looks at the negotiation processes and strategies that various players may adopt as they drive the cyber norms agenda.

This report focuses more extensively on the substantive law and principles at play and looks closely at what the global state of the debate means for India

With the cyber norms formulation efforts in a state of flux,India needs to advocate a coherent position that is in sync with the standards of international law while also furthering India's strategic agenda as a key player in the international arena.

This report seeks to draw on the works of scholars and practitioners, both in the field of cybersecurity and International Law to articulate a set of coherent positions on the four issues identified in this report. It also attempts to incorporate, where possible, state practice on thorny issues of International Law. The amount of state practice that may be cited differs with each state in question.

The report provides a bird’s eye-view of the available literature and applicable International Law in each of the briefs and identifies areas for further research, which would be useful for the norms process and in particular for policy-makers in India.Historically, India had used the standards of International Law to inform it's positions on various global regimes-such as UNCLOS and legitimize its position as a leader of alliances such as the Non-Aligned Movement and AALCO. However, of late, India has used international law far less in its approach to International Relations. This Report therefore explores how various debates on international law may be utilised by policy-makers when framing their position on various issues. Rather than creating original academic content,the aim of this report is to inform policy-makers and academics of the discourse on cyber norms.In order to make it easier to follow, each Brief is followed by a short summary highlighting the key aspects discussed in order to allow the reader to access the portion of the brief that he/she feels would be of most relevance. It does not advocate for specific stances but highlights the considerations that should be borne in mind when framing a stance.

The report focuses on four issues which may be of specific relevance for Indian policy-makers. The first brief, focuses on the Inherent Right of Self-Defense in cyberspace and its value for crafting a stable cyber deterrence regime. The second brief looks at the technical limits of attributability of cyber-attacks and hints at some of the legal and political solutions to these technical hurdles. The third brief looks at the non-proliferation of cyber weapons and the existing global governance framework which india could consider when framing its own strategy. The final brief looks at the legal regime on counter-measures and outlines the various grey zones in legal scholarship in this field. It also maps possible future areas of cooperation with the cyber sector on issues such as Active Cyber Defense and the legal framework that might be required if such cooperation were to become a reality.Each brief covers a broad array of literature and jurisprudence and attempts to explore various debates that exist both among international legal academics and the strategic community.

The ongoing global stalemate over cyber norms casts a grim shadow over the future of cyber-security. However, as seen with the emergence of the nuclear non-proliferation regime, it is not impossible for consensus to emerge in times of global tension. For India, in particular, this stalemate presents an opportunity to pick up the pieces and carve a leadership position for itself as a key norm entrepreneur in cyberspace.

Read the full report here

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/the-potential-for-the-normative-regulation-of-cyberspace-implications-for-india

Workshop: Automotives Sector and the Future of Work in India

pranav — 2020-03-05T19:21:20Z

The Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) will hold a Workshop on the Automotives Sector and the Future of Work in India on Tuesday, July 31, 2018 . The workshop will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m at The Willow Hall at the Indian Habitat Centre in New Delhi.

We invite you all to participate in this workshop to share and build knowledge about trajectories of Industry 4.0 across sub-sectors of the automotive industry in India and the emergent regulatory and public policy concerns.

The workshop will be a full-day event structured as four, three-speaker moderated panels discussing specific themes within the discourse around Industry 4.0, with an audience of about 35. Our goal is to bring together the various key stakeholders involved in the debate around Industry 4.0 and provoke conversations that will contribute to the discourse as well as compliment CIS's research in the space.

Here is the Concept Note and Agenda for the event.

A report of the discussions at this event can be found here

RSVP Details: Email- pranav@cis-india.org/aayush@cis-india.org, Phone- +91-9986961979.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/workshop-automotives-sector-and-the-future-of-work-in-india

Concept Note - FoW Automotive Workshop

pranav — 2018-07-20T17:14:55Z

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/concept-note-fow-automotive-workshop

IT/IT-es Sector and the Future of Work in India

pranav — 2018-06-22T07:13:42Z

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/it-it-es-sector-and-the-future-of-work-in-india

Dialogues on AI - Ethics of AI for India

pranav — 2018-07-01T07:01:58Z

The Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) organized the first session of the "Dialogues on AI" Roundtables in collaboration with Facebook on April 27, 2018 at Omidyar Network office in Bengaluru.

Sunil Abraham moderated one of the three sessions, and the event saw a total of 24 participants from industry, academia, law/policy, and civil society. Ambika Tandon, Shweta Mohandas, and Pranav Manjesh Bidare also attended the event.

Ethics of AI for India

Facebook and the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) jointly present the first in a national series of roundtables focussing on emerging policy, ethical, and governance concerns relating to Artificial Intelligence (AI) in India. These roundtables aim to stimulate the discourse in India by providing curated, closed-door settings for a diverse group of experts to come together to advance the Indian AI narrative.

The first roundtable – in Bangalore – is designed to draw from the extensive regional expertise available in India’s technology hub and serve as a broader foundation for future roundtables. With the abundance of AI talent in the region, we have designed this first interaction to address several foundational yet critical questions surrounding AI. We hope that this discussion and learnings from it will serve as a key base and starting point for future discourse – intellectually driven from Bangalore – and will lay benchmarks for subsequent development and thought leadership in the area.

The roundtable focused on three key threads:

AI – Evolving a Common Terminology: This thread will aim to provide a primer to the AI revolution and help newcomers and experienced professionals alike evolve a common framework and taxonomy to guide policy discussions, research, and future discourse. Discussions will look to distil conceptual clarity on topics like artificial intelligence v. machine learning v. deep learning and provide technical and philosophical foundations to those from diverse fields.
AI Ethics: This thread will aim to stimulate and provoke discussion on the ethical norms that must underpin research, development, and the use of AI. Specific issues for discussion include openness, transparency, privacy, and moral issues. We expect a key part of this discussion will revolve around questions of whether specific laws or regulations are required to account for questions posed by AI in its various forms.
AI for India: The last thread of this discussion will aim to transition the debate on ethics and policy towards the application realm. Specifically, this discussion will look to focus on how the Indian public and private sector actors can capitalise on developments in AI to drive social and economic change. From a governance point of view, we will also look to cover how AI can be used to tackle key challenges in public distribution, law and order, regulation, and defence. We expect that key questions will revolve around deployment of AI towards governance, service delivery, manufacturing, and the effect of AI on employment.

Event Primer

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/dialogues-on-ai-ethics-of-ai-for-india

Roundtable on A.I. and Governance in India

pranav — 2018-04-20T07:41:21Z

The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), Bangalore is organizing a roundtable on ‘A.I. and Governance in India' at India Islamic Cultural Centre in New Delhi on March 16, 2018 from 10.00 a.m. to 1.30 p.m.

Download the Event Report

The Roundtable seeks to discuss the various issues and challenges surrounding the design, development and use of AI in Governance (including law enforcement and legal institutions).

In line with the changing times, the government, as well as its agencies, have started using technology and digitization to make governance more efficient and accessible. For example,through its flagship project Digital India, the Indian government has undertaken digitization and revamping of systems related to railways, land records, educational resource etc. As the government pursues its digital agenda, artificial intelligence can be a tool for efficiency and decision making. To realize the potential of AI, a clear understanding of the technology and how it can and should be used is necessary. The first step towards a robust AI policy is a sound Information and Communication Technology (ICT) policy that lays the edifice for algorithmic decision making using AI.

Though the adoption of AI in the public sector is still in its nascent stages, the government of India is taking various steps to increase the scale of adoption. The Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry has constituted a task force on AI to facilitate India's economic transformation. This year’s Union Budget also recognised the need for government investment in research, training and skill development in robotics, AI, digital manufacturing, Big Data intelligence and Quantum communications. Though the adoption of AI in the public sector is still in its nascent stages, the government of India is taking various steps to increase the scale of adoption. The Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry has constituted a task force on AI to facilitate India's economic transformation. This year’s Union Budget also recognised the need for government investment in research, training and skill development in robotics, AI, digital manufacturing, Big Data intelligence and Quantum communications.

Our research on the application of AI in Indian governance aims to examine five broad sectors of application: law enforcement, discharge of governmental functions, defense,judicial/administrative decision making, and education. A few of the existing government research initiatives identified by CIS include the Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR) hosted by the Indian Defense Research and Development Organization which focuses on research and development of ICT solutions for defense, and the Ministry of Finance’s use of geospatial analytics for their economic survey on human settlements. There are already instances where government bodies are using AI, an example being the case of the Indian Police force, which is revamping its investigation procedures by using Big Data and Artificial Intelligence. The Delhi police has already started using data and analytics to control crime. In the field of agriculture too, the Indian government has partnered with Microsoft to use AI to improve crop production.

While AI can aid governance in numerous ways, there needs to be a system of checks and balances in order to ensure effectiveness, transparency, and accountability. Hence,governance mechanisms must be able to ensure inclusiveness, while minimising the risks that might arise with the use of the technology. Experts have also predicted that, as the government incorporates AI into specific areas of governance- such as service delivery, it will simultaneously need to incorporate it into broader policy structures such as cyber security and the national education framework.

The process of designing a governance ecosystem is a complex one, and AI poses several pre-existing ethical and legal for each application within this ecosystem. The effectiveness ofAI and Machine learning inherently depends on the availability of data, and it is predicted that the most imminent challenge will also involve the same, especially as India becomesincreasingly data dense and the government is entrusted with its citizens’ data. These challenges could range from the collection, storage, and use of data, to having to answerquestions of fairness, safety, and prevention of misuse. This roundtable seeks to deliberate on these questions and more so as to understand how to optimise the use of AI ingovernance for the public interest. In doing so, the roundtable will use preliminary research that CIS has undertaken into the use of AI and governance in India as an entry point into broader discussions on the challenges and benefits and way forward for AI.

Agenda

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/roundtable-on-a-i-and-governance-in-india

Vacancies at CIS

pranav — 2024-09-10T14:44:45Z

Call for applications: Public Interest Technologist

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/jobs/vacancies