Indian Government’s New Policy Proposal Threatens Our Online Privacy
The latest draft of the National Encryption Policy released by DeitY has found itself on the receiving end of ridicule and scathing criticism. Being condemned as an obsolete move that puts India decades behind in the tech-world, the proposal is seen as an attack on privacy on the internet.
The draft aims to “enable information security environment and secure transactions in Cyber Space for individuals, businesses, Government including nationally critical information systems and networks”.
This proposition is facing criticism because inherent within it is the implication of weakening of the encryption codes that would make private files on the internet accessible to the government. Apple offers an advanced version of iMessages where the company itself has no record of the messages of its users, and fights it out with the US government in the court regarding the latter’s involvement in the virtual existence of its citizens.
Back home, India asks its citizens to make themselves more vulnerable in Cyber Space in the form of regulation regarding the internet. It goes ahead to talk of plans of imposing a 90-day-compulsory-period of storage on all data exchanged using services like WhatsApp or iMessage, which make use of an end-to-end-encryption technology.
“All information shall be stored by the concerned B / C entity for 90 days from the date of transaction and made available to Law Enforcement Agencies as and when demanded in line with the provisions of the laws of the country.”
The complete draft of this new policy has been posted by DeitY on their website. The authorities ask for comments on the decision which can be sent to [email protected], until October 16, 2015.
