Mumbai, June 21: Centre to make own equipment to tap phone lines to step up telecom and cyber security
It’s about the nation’s telecom-related security.
Why do our intelligence agencies have to rely on equipment made abroad to tap phones?
Taking serious note of this, the Union government has decided to manufacture its own equipment for voice interception and Internet monitoring.
This assumes significance in wake of the recent controversy regarding IPL and phone tapping of senior politicians and the telecom spectrum scam that rocked Parliament.
On May 4, a telecom committee comprising senior officials from intelligence and telecom sectors gave the mandate to government departments Centre for Development of Telematics and National Technical Research Organisation to develop software for Voice and Internet monitoring. Copies of the documents are available with Media.
“Development of indigenous equipment will ensure that software codes and hardware configuration are available only to government bodies,” said the official.
This will help agencies like the CBI, IB, RAW, DRI and Enforcement Directorate to nab white-collared criminals and terror suspects.
According to the documents, funds for development of tapping solutions are being currently internally tied up.
Union Home Secretary GK Pillai refused to comment. “I don’t have any information on this subject,” Pillai said.
Expertspeak
“I feel it is much safer and desirable to have our own monitoring device. It can fulfil our security and commercial aspects. It is a risk to import such devices from foreign countries as they will monitor all technical aspects,” said former joint director of Intelligence Bureau M K Dhar.
Professor Girish Kumar of IIT Bombay, said, “There are certain things in foreign software which are hidden and we cannot detect. We should develop such devices ourselves as it would ensure security.”
Former air chief marshall of the IAF, S P Tyagi, feels there is some risk in using foreign-manufactured devices, which could be a problem. “It will be good if our own agencies manufacture such devices.”
Sources said that the latest anti-surveillance equipment is used by white-collared criminals and terror organisations which possess the funds and technical know-how to run such operations.
“The two high-profile scams pertaining to IPL and the multi-million dollar spectrum scam are believed to be prime reasons that tapping equipment will be made indigenously,” said Union Home Ministry sources.
“In both cases, legal tapping of certain individuals and gangs had led to significant breakthroughs. However, the route of the money trail was concealed as email exchanges were happening on highly secure mail servers hosted in a country in the erstwhile USSR.”
Stumbling blocks
“Often, suspicious elements being monitored keep changing phones,” a senior intelligence official said. “Some of them have anti-surveillance exchange routing equipment that makes it difficult to keep a track on anti-national activities.”
Prime focus
According to intelligence sources, politicians, top businessman, bureaucrats, advocates, export-import agents are on the radar. “Phone-tapping is not a new phenomenon. But since the telecom and cyber sectors have increased vastly, monitoring has also been increased,” said an intelligence official.
Political view
“If security agencies tap phone lines for a valid reason like national security, there is nothing wrong in it,”
said Senior Vice-President of BJP Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.
“Doing it out of political influence is bad like a recent phone tapping incident which was done due to political influence.”
———Agencies