Gateway to Terror

ICT has contributed significantly to the stupendous GDP growth in India in
the recent past. But poor monitoring of telecom services, especially satellite
phones, has been a major cause for not being able to curb the magnitude of the
recent Mumbai attacks.

The attacks show that despite measures by telecom operators, SIM cards from
Indian operators were given to terrorists who reportedly came from Pakistan.
Reports also state that terrorists used four GPS-enabled handsets to enter
India, nine mobile phones for communication and a satellite phone was used to
guide terrorists through the attack. The satellite phone from Abu Dhabi-based
Thuraya used by the terrorists was what came as a challenge to the authorities.

The Satellite Connection

The buck passing among Indian security agencies is on but the truth cannot
be ignored. The government could not sense that a piece of satellite phone was
being used inside the country. Satellite for individual use is banned in India
because of security reasons. Tata Communications is the only telecom operator in
India that facilitates the use of Inmarsat-based satellite phones after
receiving the necessary approval from DoT.

Thuraya Dealer Network in Pakistan

The company has about 2,500 Inmarsat land mobile and sat phones registered
with it. Tata Communications facilitates the interception of conversations only
if the satellite phone is Inmarsat-based. We do not have the necessary authority
to detect/intercept unlicensed satellite phones, says a spokesperson from Tata
Communications.

Today communications tools and gadgets are very easy to access and are
user-friendly. Operators must cooperate with the government to punish those who
misuse communications devices: unlike Thuraya which is yet to cooperate with the
Indian government because it has no business in India! We hope India can set a
new benchmark in bringing these operators to the discussion table and fix the
prevailing issue. Thuraya is a member of the International Telecommunication
Union which has condemned the 26/11 Mumbai attack.

ITU does not condone the misuse of these technologies and indeed we are
working toward strengthening network security and making cyberspace safer for
bona fide users. You will appreciate that no manufacturer can be held
responsible for the misuse of its products in this manner. Having said that, we
condemn the attacks in Bombay in no uncertain terms and join in solidarity with
the victims and their families and the people of India and other nationalities
who suffered in this heinous crime against humanity, says Sanjay Acharya,
spokesperson, ITU.

Thuraya has a network of twenty-one satellite phone dealers spread across
Pakistan. It has three dealers in North West Frontier Province (NWFP), which has
been a place of strategic interest for Taliban and Al Qaeda. It has a dealer in
Chitral which shares a common border with Pak occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Kunar
province of East Afghanistan. Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, the alleged mastermind of
the Mumbai terror attack, began his life in Kunar.

You can get a satellite phone in India for Rs 60,000. But there are stringent
provision for getting the license. One has to obtain the license from the
Wireless and Planning Commission for satellite phones.

We can sell satellite phones in India to those who have obtained licenses
from WPC. These are phone procured from our Singapore office, says Rahul
Thakkar, proprietor, Belifal Innovations & Technologies.

The Indian government has reportedly banned the use of satellite phones on
the pretext of security issues for general public but terrorists accused and
killed in the Mumbai attacks were not from India. A similar provision is
required in other parts of the world to increase monitoring of satellite phones
and keeps a check from falling into the wrong hands.

Prasoon Srivastava

Voice&Data

maildqindia@cybermedia.co.in