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Follow UsThe dramatic shift in technology has changed the way we deal with our
lives. With the advent of newer and better technologies, there is
always an issue of security. Post World War II, there has been a change
in fashion when it comes to declaring war on any country. The 9/11
attack on the World Trade Center (WTC) and the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai
were in different fashion. So what could be the next form of declaring
war? It could probably be the cyber war.
Yes, the cyber war has begun but is still at a nascent stage. It's
consequences could be even severe than what it is now. Countries like
Germany, US, UK and the European Union had already started working on
their plans to guard their Critical Infrastructure, its now time for
other countries to take care of their Critical Infrastructure.
Infrastructure as the name suggests, includes physical facilities
and the information technologies and communication networks. It is
obvious that in this era, the growth of any company or country is at
stake if its infrastructure is affected for some time. The direct
impact is felt on the social or economic health of the nation.
Critical Infrastructure is not only associated with the IT sector, it
is even extended to various sectors like banking, finance, energy,
manufacturing and other sectors which contribute largely towards the
growth of a nation.
Over the years it has been witnessed that, terrorists and competing
foreign governments are not in mood to indulge in physical wars. If a
country has to attack on its rival, they have a specific political goal
to cripple the other nation's economy. According to a latest study on
Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) conducted by Symantec, 53
percent of the firms surveyed across the world suspected or were sure
that they have been a victim to an attack backed by a clear political
goal in mind.
Most of the
attacks did not seem to be immature. They were extreme in nature
and had a devastating effect on the victimized companies. 74 to 77
percent of the companies surveyed in North America reported the attacks
having a major effect on their growth. As revealed by the report, the
average cost incurred in dealing with such attacks was calculated at $
850,000.
To minimize such attacks, the companies are resorting to partner with
their respective governments. A whopping 90 percent of the respondents
surveyed by Symantec are working in sync with their country's CIP
programs to atleast some degree.
To avert attacks on the Critical Infrastructure of businesses,
industries are now cooperating with their respective governments and
are trying to figure out possible ways to deal with this new area of
concern.
In the aftermath of 9/11 attack, the then US President, George W. Bush
had said that, the Information Technology revolution has changed the
way business is transacted, government operates and national defense is
conducted. In this age, infrastructures are interconnected and due to
common links, different systems are vulnerable to some sort of
intrusion by cyber criminals. Disruption in one infrastructure will
make other systems vulnerable to cyber threats.
But resolving the issue regarding the safety of critical infrastructure
does not seem to be possible without international cooperation. Every
country is now working on a strong legal framework to curb cyber crime.
The concern for the protection of critical infrastructure came to light
after the discovery of computer worm, Stuxnext in July, 2010. The
Stuxnext worm had infected the computers in countries like China, Iran,
Indonesia, US, UK, Australia.
After the economic liberalization, India has witnessed huge investments
by the private sector in the field of IT, telecom, electricity and
almost every sector. Each sector is now largely dependent on its
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) framework.
Experts feel that, India does not have strong and effective cyber laws
to deal with issue pertaining to Critical Infrastructure. India is
blind towards cyber law, cyber security and cyber forensics
requirements. The IT Act, 2000 is a poorly drafted law and badly
implemented legislation. It is weak and ineffective in dealing with
growing Cyber Crimes in India as it is the most Soft and Cyber
Criminal Friendly Legislation of the World, says Praveen Dalal,
Managing Partner of techno legal ICT Law Firm Perry4Law and Supreme
Court Lawyer.
Now the big question is, with all these obstacles in place, is India
prepared to fight for a safe and secure critical infrastructure? And if it is, then how well can it handle this issue?
Is India prepared to save its critical infrastructure?
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