Intelligence & National Security Discussion

suryag · Post by **suryag** » 31 Aug 2010 23:48

Court issues Letters Rogatory in case against Madhuri Gupta

Kind of confused with this news. Didnt the agencies arrest her on the basis of emails, if so why approach another country for evidence?

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 01 Sep 2010 01:22

Indian prosecutors never base their cases on available evidence. They have to milk the system for unobtanium evidence and get the country a few insults along the way. Whats the need for Hotmail and Gmail accounts except to get a few slaps in the future? The court will go along with the timepass and the lady will die of old age!

BTW did they ask for email accounts of Rabinder Singh?

Rupesh · Post by **Rupesh** » 01 Sep 2010 01:44

PM holds meeting to discuss China threat

NEW DELHI: Amid reports of China's deployment of troops in the Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security to review China's recent posturing and India's options of dealing with it.

Senior Cabinet ministers, including Defence Minister A. K. Antony, Home Minister P. Chidambaram and External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna were among those who attended the meeting.

India's ambassador to China S. Jaishankar briefed the ministers at the meeting that discussed how best to deal with China's perceived aggressiveness towards issues critical to India's sovereignty.

The meeting came amid reports that China has deployed about 11,000 troops in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Jammu and Kashmir which has been held by Pakistan.

The crucial meeting ended with a consensus among ministers to adopt a firm attitude towards China, specially over issues that question India's sovereignty over its territory, but agreed that the message should be conveyed in such a manner so as not to upset the larger relationship, sources said.

Thomas Kolarek · Post by **Thomas Kolarek** » 01 Sep 2010 03:23

Why do you want a larger relationship when enemy is putting fire on your back.

The crucial meeting ended with a consensus among ministers to adopt a firm attitude towards China, specially over issues that question India's sovereignty over its territory, but agreed that the message should be conveyed in such a manner so as not to upset the larger relationship, sources said.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 01 Sep 2010 03:36

They don't want a repeat of "Throw the buggers out!" type message. Oct is coming near.

VinodTK · Post by **VinodTK** » 01 Sep 2010 07:43

The crucial meeting ended with a consensus among ministers to adopt a firm attitude towards China, specially over issues that question India's sovereignty over its territory, but agreed that the message should be conveyed in such a manner so as not to upset the larger relationship, sources said.

There is no "larger relationship" to upset, Chinese are treating India like crap and do not give a bleep about the relationship with India. Last I heard, it takes two parties to have a relationship, what relationship are these clowns talking about??

nits · Post by **nits** » 01 Sep 2010 11:48

Craig Alpert wrote:BlackBerry agrees to monitoring of services, govt grants 60-day relief
NEW DELHI: Faced with an August 31 government deadline, BlackBerry mobile phone maker Research In Motion (RIM) today gave in promising access to Indian security agencies to monitor all its services with immediate effect.

The government, meanwhile, says it won't ban BlackBerry services for at least 60 days, easing up on the threat leveled over access to encrypted data.

The Ministry of Home Affairs says it will ``review the situation in 60 days,'' after telecom authorities examine Research In Motion's proposals to give security agencies greater access to corporate e-mail and instant messaging.

It's politics and not technology that finally swung the BlackBerry issue. American President Barack Obama's — whose addiction to BlackeBerry is well chronicled — impending visit to India in November with a large delegation of similar enthusiasts; international arrivals on account of the CommonWealth Games and political pressure from the Canadian government appear to have prompted the home ministry to temporarily postpone its plans to blackout select BlackBerry services from August 31.

Link

Sanku · Post by **Sanku** » 01 Sep 2010 14:49

Sigh.... we needed to have blackberry monitoring now rather than later....

nits · Post by **nits** » 01 Sep 2010 18:29

Delhi clumsily bugged Blair's room'

Indian intelligence clumsily bugged Tony Blair's hotel room in Delhi during the then British prime minister's visit, one month after 9/11 attacks, his chief spin doctor Alastair Campbell has revealed.

Campbell said, in his newly-published diaries, released in India on July 25 that Blair and his entourage found the bugs but decided not to make a fuss.

The revelation of alleged Indian intelligence dirty tricks has largely been ignored by the British media but pundits said Campbell's account might bring a blush to Indian faces, not least, those of the clumsy Delhi intelligence community.

Obama's Turn now

Some more info -Link 2

Manishw · Post by **Manishw** » 01 Sep 2010 18:36

nits wrote:
Obama's Turn now

And hope its not clumsy this time.

Vashishtha · Post by **Vashishtha** » 01 Sep 2010 20:12

Obama's Turn now

That was during vajpayee tenure. It will be against mms's principles to do the same.

Rupesh · Post by **Rupesh** » 01 Sep 2010 20:38

Once a month in Delhi, a high table for eight

But these past few months, eight of the the country’s most powerful have been meeting over lunch once a month, informally, to sort out critical matters and speed up decision-making.

National Security Advisor Shiv Shanker Menon, General V K Singh, Air Chief Marshal P V Naik , Admiral Nirmal Verma, Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar, Home Secretary G K Pillai, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar sit together once a month. Rather than seek political intervention on every prickly issue, they try to sort it out amongst themselves.

Principal Secretary to Prime Minister T K A Kutty Nair, Director Intelligence Bureau Rajiv Mathur and Secretary (R&AW) K C Verma have been kept out of this new arrangement, probably because they are too close to the political leadership.

The rules of this cabal are simple. There are no notes, no minutes of meetings. Everything is off-the-record.
The eight take turns to host a lunch, at home or office. The host coordinates the power lunch where all are equal. No one pulls rank — cadre, batch, proximity to political power centres don’t matter here.

Apart from inter-ministerial issues, even personal matters come up at the meetings with the focus being on resolution — be it related to China, Pakistan, terror or telecom security.

It is Nirupama Rao’s turn next month and China is likely to be on the table.

Seems like a good thing to do.. i'm sure RAW and Ib will be keeping an eye on these folks

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 01 Sep 2010 21:19

Those two work for them: Cabinet Secy and Home Secy!

ShivaS · Post by **ShivaS** » 01 Sep 2010 21:26

Meanwhile our HM is trying to get shunted to Finance again looks like.
HM is bigger flop than Lkg. Naxals on rampage, Naxals control HM fuelled Telengana
Naxals issue ultimatum killing CRPF ( does it resemble some thing in our friendly neighbor TSP where govt has complete control).

Our PM see no evil looks no evil talks no evil, while CWG crroks are looting in broad daylight.
Hm cant have the *all* to call Islamic Terrorism terrorism but only ventures to say militants, where as readily accepts Hindu terrorism....

Jai ho

sum · Post by **sum** » 01 Sep 2010 21:30

Vashishtha wrote:
Obama's Turn now
That was during vajpayee tenure. It will be against mms's principles to do the same.

Was reading M.K.Dhar's book "open secrets" and he mentions a incident where his friend got the contract for renovating a undisclosed foreign embassy. The friend took Dhar to have a lookie while the renovation was on and while on the tour, he offered a few spots where the IB could place infinite duration bugs ( hooked on to the mains) if Dhar so required. However, the MEA shot down the proposal saying that "we dont believe in such diplomacy"

Hoping and prayng that such things have changed now...

manum · Post by **manum** » 01 Sep 2010 21:31

Meanwhile our HM is trying to get shunted to Finance again looks like.
HM is bigger flop than Lkg. Naxals on rampage, Naxals control HM fuelled Telengana
Naxals issue ultimatum killing CRPF ( does it resemble some thing in our friendly neighbor TSP where govt has complete control).

Our PM see no evil looks no evil talks no evil, while CWG crroks are looting in broad daylight.
Hm cant have the *all* to call Islamic Terrorism terrorism but only ventures to say militants, where as readily accepts Hindu terrorism....

Jai ho

guess what, may be you require ministry with full of rock stars...always playing heavy metal...changing the world...

Rupesh · Post by **Rupesh** » 01 Sep 2010 21:46

ramana wrote:Those two work for them: Cabinet Secy and Home Secy!

Ooops..

Surya · Post by **Surya** » 01 Sep 2010 21:59

a turdball like Alistair campbell spouts something and some of us immediately accept it as the truth???

nits · Post by **nits** » 02 Sep 2010 12:18

nits wrote:Indian intelligence clumsily bugged Tony Blair's hotel room in Delhi during the then British prime minister's visit, one month after 9/11 attacks, his chief spin doctor Alastair Campbell has revealed. .

Our Agencies must be knowing that such stuff will get caught by UK Counter Intilligence so why are these being done... to give some political message to visiting Leader or just to irritate them ?

nits · Post by **nits** » 02 Sep 2010 14:43

The Pakistani media has blamed India's Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) for the match fixing scandal, and says that India wants to oust Pakistan from international cricket.

A Pakistani news paper, Daily Mail, carried a story with the title 'The Lord's episode another RAW ploy'. It says International Cricket Council's chief Sharad Pawar has been working to get the Pakistan team banned for three to five years and the bookie, Mazhar Majeed, is a RAW man, who was introduced to Indian cricket by RAW officials.

The report further says: "The bookie met Pakistan players in South Africa at a dinner for the first time in 2009. The English journalist got 50,000 pounds to organise the fake sting operation from RAW and the Indian High Commission in London played a key role in the bookie's bail.

This is getting too Funny

Pakistani paper blames India for 'fixing' scandal

sum · Post by **sum** » 02 Sep 2010 21:09

nits wrote: Our Agencies must be knowing that such stuff will get caught by UK Counter Intilligence so why are these being done... to give some political message to visiting Leader or just to irritate them ?

Errr, just assuming that the counter-intel team will detect the bugs will never ever be a hindrance for any agency worth its salt to try bugging the target. ( Different matter if it was just to get a message across)

Rupesh · Post by **Rupesh** » 03 Sep 2010 00:42

Fire at DRI HQ wipes out phone tap records

A fire at the headquarters of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Tuesday night might have destroyed sensitive electronic data on financial frauds and records pertaining to tapped-phone conversations, including some politically sensitive cases.

The fire broke out, according to sources, in the Interception Room also known as DRI's "secret room" at its 7th floor headquarters in the drum-shaped building at Indraprastha Estate in the Capital.

Some of the corporate frauds DRI has pursued in the last few years ran into thousands of crores. It had also recently provided inputs to the government on Dawood gang on latter's operation in Pakistan and also its contacts in India.

Besides financial frauds, the DRI closely monitors terrorist and narcotics activities and keeps a close watch on export oriented units that may be misused by these terror and anti-national outfits to channel funds for their sleeper cells operating in the country. In the past few years it had successfully neutralized several such terrorist and narcotics syndicates having links with Pakistan,

darshhan · Post by **darshhan** » 03 Sep 2010 01:34

^^ somebody in higher echelons is covering up the tracks.In my opinion it is no accident.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 03 Sep 2010 01:45

Maybe regime change being anticipated?

ShivaS · Post by **ShivaS** » 03 Sep 2010 01:53

The best way to burry Null & Void is to set fire.
A case of there was nothing and there is nothing.

DRI is my favorite whipping boy, because they never harm even a fly

!
True Gandhians indeed

darshhan · Post by **darshhan** » 03 Sep 2010 03:11

In fact it is becoming a trend to use this fire tactic to tie up the loose ends.Some of you might be aware that recently 61 trucks full of explosives had gone missing in Rajasthan.Now apparently a fire has destroyed the important documents in BM Traders(the company responsible) office in bhilwara rajasthan.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topi ... 404216.cms

These kind of fire incidents have happened earlier as well.

These incidents can only be averted if the agencies are required to digitise their records over the web.if there are cyber security issues which preclude the posting of such records on the web then there should be some kind WAN(wide area network) available for such activity.

darshhan · Post by **darshhan** » 03 Sep 2010 03:26

With respect to the DRI fire it is important to note that some time back Outlook magazine had raised the spectre of illegal phone tapping using new technology(I think it was fox or something like that).It might be possible that fire was directed at these illegal phone tapping records.

If my above theory is right than it means that the govt. was using DRI for these illegal phone tappings.At least it was one of the agencies involved.

VinodTK · Post by **VinodTK** » 03 Sep 2010 04:47

India Must Master the Great Game

Instead, New Delhi could pursue something like the asymmetry that Beijing seeks against Washington, including in the maritime, cyber and nuclear realms. A mix of development, deterrence and diplomacy will make India ready for rivalry.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 03 Sep 2010 14:29

Worth repeating here.

Does India have National Security?
By Lt Gen HC Dutta
Issue: Vol 24.2 Apr-Jun 2009

Issue: Vol 24.2 Apr-Jun 2009

Pakistan has been a volatile and turbulent neighbor to India. Since partition, India has had to resort to war on three occasions – 1947, 1965, 1971 plus two sizeable conflicts in Rann of Katchh in 1965 and Kargil in 1999, apart from series of skirmishes in Siachen Glacier area in 1985, 1987 and 1995. In between it has been bedeviled by unremitting depredation of various kinds, ranging from infiltrations to hijacking to instigating of insurgencies in Kashmir and Punjab, attacks on Indian parliament and Indian embassy in Kabul.
In addition, there has been a spate of bomb blasts in Indian cities. The latest horror has been an audacious commando type raid on Mumbai on Nov 26, 2008 which has lead to public outcry against failure of the government to protect its people and property. There is widespread doubt as to whether India has national security.

How do we define national security? One formulation is that “A country can be said to have security if it does not have to avoid war when its national interests are threatened or violated”. In other words, a country should have the option (capacity and will) to retaliate when provoked or hurt. Option of armed retaliation or resort to war is bound by restrictions or ground rules. First: It is a mistake to start something that you cannot finish. Examples: Indian mobilization (operation Prakaram) consequent to Pak inspired attack on Indian parliament which resulted in an eyeball to eyeball confrontation lasting nine months with India looking for a face saver to disengage.

VinodTK · Post by **VinodTK** » 04 Sep 2010 01:27

Ready for Chinese Checkers?

Three successive foreign secretaries have been China experts, S.S. Menon also being the current national security adviser. Addressing the Heads of Indian Missions, Mr Menon felt that despite the pinpricks the Chinese will not opt for confrontation as they are focused on economic growth. Anticipating human or national behaviour is tricky business. On December 19, 1979, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) advised the US President that “the pace of Soviet deployments does not suggest an urgent contingency”. A week later the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. Tim Weiner, in his masterly book on CIA Legacy of Ashes, comments that it was not a lack of intelligence; it was a lack of imagination.

sum · Post by **sum** » 05 Sep 2010 11:20

Big brother, smaller siblings watching you

A woman employee of a mobile service provider received a call from a former colleague. He gave her a cell number and requested her to identify who owned it.

The request was simple, though against the norm, she obliged. But to her misfortune the former colleague was on a conference call with a friend, when he made the request using the same phone. To her double misfortune, person’s phone at the other end of the conference call had been tapped by police.

The entire conversation was recorded and she was sacked.

The recent spat between Blackberry-maker RIM and central government has brought to limelight widespread interception of private communication by government agencies.

“Several security agencies can walk into any mobile or Internet service provider and walk out with any information they want. They won’t stop until they get similar access to communication sent through Blackberries,” said a senior executive of a mobile operator in Maharashtra.

Information gathered by Deccan Herald shows that voice calls, sms, emails, chats, browsing details and other forms of electronic communication are routinely monitored and intercepted by Government authorities. Your private calls to a friend, the mp3 files you download on the sly, dirty pictures you view when none is around, mid-night chats you indulge in with exciting strangers, sms you send to your girl friend, confidential email you send to your sister – everything is vulnerable to the prying eyes of the government.

Alarmingly, this correspondent also came across several instances of service providers’ employees accessing personal communication of subscribers without authorization. Given the sensitivity of the subject, very few executives were willing speak on record.

“All countries have a legitimate interest in monitoring these activities for security reasons. But what is probably unique in India is the ingenious bureaucratic machinery that has come about to carry out interceptions,” said the Maharashtra executive.

A long list of security agencies – literally, the who’s who of enforcement – comprise the first wheel of the interception machinery: State police, Intelligence Bureau, Narcotics Control Bureau, Directorate of Enforcement, Central Economic Intelligence Bureau, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Income Tax Department, Central Bureau of Investigations, Directorate of Signal Intelligence (in sensitive areas of the country) and TERM, DoT.
{ What is TERM, DoT? }

A request for interception can come from any of these agencies. The state police is said to be the most prolific user of the interception machinery, though others do not seem to be way behind. The request to tap lobbyist Nira Radia’s phone, which eventually led to the recording of her conversation with IT and Communications minister A Raja, came from the Income Tax department.

‘Nodal officers’, appointed by service providers in each telecom circle, are the second wheel. They provide the information security agencies need: call content, subscriber details, location of calls, call data records, browsing details, chatting transcripts, emails, attachments...

Nodal officers are available to security agencies round-the-clock, attend fortnightly meetings with them and are rewarded with appreciation letters by grateful superintendents of police. If service providers do not comply with the interception requests, they can be penalised. The performance of the nodal officers is partly assessed by how effectively they help their companies avoid penalties.

Whatever you do with your mobile or on Internet, can be captured and handed over to security agencies. Handing over this information is a relatively simple affair, technically speaking. If the police need any call or browsing related information, a document similar to the monthly bill you get is generated and handed over to the police.

“Most people get adventurous online, thinking they are covered with a cloak of anonymity. In reality, they are as exposed as the Emperor who wore nothing,” said the Maharashtra executive.

Intercepting voice calls is also a cake walk. The targeted subscriber’s calls are diverted to a parallel number with a police officer, who will then get to listen to the suspects’ conversations as they happen. Even if the police officer is in an area with a lot of background noise, the suspect will not notice anything unusual, thanks to the noise cancellation technology.

“The government wants a similar system of monitoring and interception with Blackberry as well”, said the Maharashtra mobile executive.

Interceptions are fragmented by telecom circles and further segmented by service providers. Hence, it is hard to keep count of the total number of calls being intercepted in the country at any given time. A senior police officer Deccan Herald spoke to was not sure of the total number of intercepted calls, but assumed that the number was being aggregated somewhere!

A nodal officer from Bihar circle said he received up to the 200 requests from security agencies in a month. The number of requests depend on the crime rate in the region and varies from circle to circle, he added. With the growing use of mobiles, police are increasingly calling upon service providers to assist in their investigation.

Dr Pushkar Raj of People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) says, “Interceptions are being carried out more widely than you and I think.” “PUCL has no problem in police tapping the phones of terrorists. But interceptions have spilled over to watch human rights activists,” he adds.

Former DGP of Karnataka Sri Kumar dismisses the notion of widespread interceptions. “Tapping telephones is a time-consuming job. Police do not have the resources to engage in large-scale interceptions,“ he points out. Sri Kumar says he might have asked for interceptions ‘half-a-dozen times” in his 37 years of police work.

Interceptions are subject to clear government guidelines. Requests have to be usually approved by union or state home secretary. But during emergencies an officer of the rank of Inspector General of Police can request interception for seven days, which can be extended up to 60 days if approved by the Home Secretary. Suspects can be intercepted for a maximum period of six months.

Service providers say the procedure is generally followed, but with significant exceptions. “We get interception requests saying paper work will follow, which do not eventually materialise, in many cases,“ said the Maharashtra mobile executive. “Even if there is a breach of procedure, we are forced to oblige to ensure a smooth working relationship with police,” he said.

More importantly, civil rights advocates say the procedures make interceptions an internal affair of bureaucracy. As they are exercised outside judicial or any other independent supervision, they are prone to abuse by rogue cops.

Leading criminal lawyer Nanditha Haksar used a memo written by K K Paul, a special commissioner of intelligence, in her defence of Parliament-attack accused S. A. R. Geelani. The memo took note of mobile operators’ complaints that private individuals were misusing police contacts to tap phone calls of "opponents in trade or estranged spouses".

Senior police officers in different states have been charged with serious crimes ranging from murder to extortion. Activists say the power to intercept at will is a handy tool to a rogue officer.

But Sri Kumar says there are enough safeguards within the system to prevent abuse. “The officer who requests interception is not the one who approves. All interceptions are monitored by a review committee.”

Sri Kumar admits he himself has investigated and punished cases of rogue interceptions by police, but says the rate of such incidents is “not alarming”. “Hang those who misuse, but do not tarnish all officers with the same brush”, he says.

Cautioning against excessive criticism of interception, he says, police interceptions are legal and in national interest, but are hampered by lack of technology and resources.

The Maharashtra mobile official said security agencies have begun to use new technologies to intercept. “They now put equipment on the premises of service providers, which lets them intercept calls on their own. Service providers now have to just provide access and do not even know which number is being tapped. The system is so opaque now, we do not even know if they are following the laid-down procedures while accessing our subscribers’ information.”

Sri Kumar says authorities had to put this equipment as the response from the service providers was slow. “They typically take 48 hours to respond to our requests. When we are in hot chase, we don’t have that kind of time,” he adds.

Security agencies are bypassing mobile operators using another piece of technology, which is now becoming popular: off-the-air GSM/CDMA monitoring systems. These devices can be mounted on cars, driven around and used to intercept calls in the vicinity, without giving a clue even to the mobile operator.

Media has frequently reported that security agencies have been using these devices to tap phones of politicians and keep tabs on areas with significant minority population.

While civil rights advocates are focused on reigning in police, service providers are grappling with the problem of rogue employees snooping on subscribers without any authorization. A few years ago a popular actor and actress, both from Bollywood dynasties, were in a relationship. They happened to use the same mobile operator and there were thick rumours in the company that, a few employees were privy to their intimate conversation.

Service provider employees have been allegedly found informing suspects that their phones were under surveillance or doing unwarranted favours to their friends.

A former senior employee of one of the largest mobile operators of the country said the company did not have a mechanism to track any employee who intercepted calls without authorization.

He said after a nodal officer receives a request for interception, a senior officer within the circle has to validate. From there the request goes to a typically middle-ranking technical manager to carry out the interception. It is here the system is vulnerable for abuse as many service providers do not have adequate safeguards in place, he said.

An engineer who worked for a software company that wrote the interception software for the same mobile operator more than five years ago agreed with the statement. The specification was to just write the software to enable interception as required by authorities. The operator did not go a step further to create a monitoring mechanism to check unauthorized interception by employees.

“They were shortsighted and just anxious to meet the legal requirement and be done with that,” said the engineer. The engineer also said a similar weakness may possibly exist among few other older operators as well. The mobile operator in question declined to comment on the story.

A senior official of Indian Cellular Association said, “The problem possibly exists and companies should upgrade software”. “But the industry is grappling with too many issues, this is not a priority at the moment,“ he said speaking off-the-record. The Cellular Operator’s Association of India did not respond to queries.

“Rogue interception by employees can damage company reputation and create serious liability. Most companies sack erring employees and hush up the issue,” the Maharashtra mobile executive said.

The Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, and the Information Technology Act, 2008, which legalise surveillance of telephones and online activities, also slap stiff penalties on service providers for break of privacy.

Sri Kumar says with communication shifting from voice to data, monitoring at the ISP-end is becoming increasingly important.

Your ISP is the channel that connects your computer to the web site you want to access. The moment you connect to the Internet all your moves come under the ISP scanner. “There is nothing your ISP cannot read, monitor, intercept, deny or allow, “says Pradeep Srinivas, CEO of MNXT consultancy, who has 26 years of experience in security.

Your ISP knows which computer you use, where it is located, which operating system and browser you are running. It can read your email, track your chats, know your unsecured user name and passwords, follow you to the web sites, watch what you do there.

But given the huge amount of information that passes through them, ISPs do not have the resources or need to read every email that is sent through them. They are more like traffic cops who keep an eye on the traffic passing on the road. They are usually content to let the vehicles to pass. But if any vehicle acts suspiciously, they intercept and look who is inside.

ISPs are legally required to maintain sophisticated surveillance systems to monitor online traffic and track suspects.

A California firm Narus provides technology for ISPs to monitor and intercept. In India, AT&T, Reliance, Sify and Cable and Wireless are prominent users of Narus software.

A Bangalore-based employee of Narus said a ‘semantic traffic analyzer’ is installed in ISPs to “sniff illegal data transmissions” and make them available for security agencies. ”The system can be programmed to trigger alerts if it sniffs emails with content on terrorism, chatting in localities known to harbour anti-social elements and activities in computers owned by known criminals,” he said.

“If police identify a suspect, Narus can help ISPs make a copy of all communication happening through his computer,” he added. Narus declined to share details of its interception capabilities with Deccan Herald.

But even the most advanced monitoring mechanism can go horribly wrong.

A Bangalore-based HCL engineer Lakshmana Kailash was arrested by the Pune police in August, 2007 for defaming Chatrapati Shivaji on Orkut. He was identified by his computer address, provided by Airtel, which turned out to be incorrect. But by then Kailash had spent over 50 days in jail.

The Information Technology Act requires ISPs to ‘maintain strict confidentiality’ on the direction for interception or monitoring issued by security agencies. None of the ISPs contacted by Deccan Herald were willing to share information on how closely the security agencies watch the Internet.

To get an idea on that we have to turn to another source. In April, Google made public the 'requests' it had received from various governments to identify specific users or remove objectionable content from its services.

In seeking information about users, India came fourth after Brazil, US and UK. In requesting for removal of content India followed Brazil and Germany. A Wall Street Journal report quoted a Google India official saying the company literally pushed back on a daily basis requests to remove objectionable content.

Not all the requests Google gets involve national security. In 2008 Pune police asked Google to identify an Orkut member who had posted derogatory messages about Sonia Gandhi and arrested him. Google, MSN, Yahoo declined to comment on the story.

As with mobile operators, there is risk of ISP employees intercepting subscriber activities on their own.

An expert on cyber laws and security, Na.Vijayashankar, says many ISPs have not put in place adequate safeguards to prevent unauthorized interceptions by employees. “We tell ISPs to follow due diligence as employee misuse can cause serious liability,” he adds.
...
Government authorities are tightening surveillance measures and have asked major online service providers such as Skype, Google and Yahoo to move their servers to the country.
....

The Narus employee said using his company software all forms of online activities can be monitored at the ISP or gateway level. For example, Narus web mail solution can scrutinise web-based emails such as Yahoo, hot mail and Gmail. There is no need to shift their servers here, he said.

Pradeep Srinivas said, “By asking these companies to shift servers to the country, Government is just imposing its authority on them. Making surveillance too obvious will prompt criminals to find better ways to evade.”.

Didnt know that even IGPs ( and not just home secretary) can authorize tapping!

pgbhat · Post by **pgbhat** » 06 Sep 2010 07:03

^TERM, DoT = Telecom Enforcement, Resource and Monitoring, Department of Telecommunications.

Edit: http://www.dot.gov.in/vtm/vtm.htm

VinodTK · Post by **VinodTK** » 08 Sep 2010 07:23

Fruits of Antony’s visit to South Korea: Defence Ties Strengthen further

Coming against the backdrop of reports of a massive Chinese military build-up in Gilgit-Baltistan, the northern area of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, the strategic significance of Antony’s visit to South Korea cannot be overlooked. Originally, Antony’s visit was planned in late 2010 but was advanced to September in view of the urgency to counter the Chinese military build-up. Indeed, India is looking to effectively counter the Chinese ‘string of pearls’ strategy and Antony’s visit to South Korea should be looked at in that larger context. India also has a strategic partnership with Japan and is now strengthening the same with South Korea. China’s alleged complicity in weapon development programmes in Myanmar and Pakistan is beyond doubt.

sum · Post by **sum** » 08 Sep 2010 10:39

Not directly related to Indian intel but just a glimpse at the strides the Amriki intel is making:

Xilinx and NSA Announce Approval of Virtex-5Q FPGA Solution for High-Grade Cryptographic Processing

SAN JOSE, Calif., Sept 07, 2010 -- Xilinx, Inc. (Nasdaq:XLNX) today announced that the latest version of its high-performance programmable solution for high assurance applications in the aerospace and defense (A&D) industries has been approved for use in Type 1 Crypto Systems by the National Security Agency (NSA). The approval of the Virtex(R)-5Q device and related physical security IP core, which together help form the Xilinx(R) Targeted Design Platform for secure communications, extends an on-going relationship between the NSA and Xilinx, and underscores the company's 20-year track record of meeting the rigorous demands of the A&D industry.

The successful results of the exhaustive testing of the company's second generation secure communications offering allow the FPGA leader to provide lower cost, lower power and more flexible solutions to developers needing to meet the demanding requirements of high-grade cryptographic processing applications, including the requirements set forth by the Department of Defense's (DoD) Crypto Modernization initiatives.

The approval covers critical elements of the Virtex-5Q device secure communications Targeted Design Platform. The solution provides a single chip crypto (SCC) design methodology and a newly-released Security Monitor 2.0 IP core for physical design security. SCC combines the functionality of multiple FPGAs into a single device, enabling A&D product developers to reduce the size, weight, power and cost (SWAP-C) of systems through higher levels of integration. The complete solution also includes dual embedded PowerPC(R) 440 processors, tamper-proofing capabilities and Xilinx' isolation verification tool.

Key to the NSA approval is the ability of the Virtex-5Q solution and associated methodology to isolate user functionality within a single device. The NSA completed a fail-safe analysis effort for the Virtex-5Q family to confirm that the Xilinx SCC technology allows individual regions of the FPGA to be isolated from each other in the event of failure through accidental or intentional means. The proven SCC design flow and verification process, first pioneered and developed by Xilinx in cooperation with NSA, provides higher levels of integration and increased system reliability. Although designed to meet NSA requirements, the SCC solution provides isolation techniques useful in other high reliability applications such as commercial avionics governed by FAA DO-254 and commercial cryptographic systems governed by NIST FIPS-140.

"Xilinx and NSA have worked closely together on this ground-breaking second generation Single Chip Crypto and Security Monitor technology which will further enable reductions in overall system power, form factor and cost for present and future crypto systems," Amit Dhir, Senior Director, Xilinx Aerospace/Defense & High Performance Computing Business.

nits · Post by **nits** » 09 Sep 2010 12:08

Nabbed in 70 days

A team of ATS officers worked on shifts round-the-clock watching every movement of the German Bakery blast suspects Bilal and Himayat Baig before nabbing the terror duo

Just students
Telephone records indicated that members of Bilal's module, posing as post graduate students, were staying at service apartments in Frazer and nearby Benson Town.

It helped them move around freely in the township with few neighbours suspecting their activities, informed a police source.

A team of officers, accompanied by informants, flew into Bangalore by the next flight.

Code language
Initially, the officers could not make sense of the conversations as they were in Naiwali, a dialect spoken in Bhatkal Village in South Karnataka. The services of a local translator were hired to analyse the intercepted data. Once the cops understood the language keeping tabs became easier.

24-hr tabs
The buildings were kept under surveillance and officers worked on shifts round-the-clock to watch their every movement. The operation was monitored by ATS chief Rakesh Maria. Officers from Mumbai flew into Bangalore at regular intervals to relieve their tired colleagues.

Giving the slip
While the ATS kept constant tabs on the IM members, Bilal managed to give them the slip. After his arrest, Bilal told investigators that he would change his appearance and shuttle between Bangalore, Mangalore, Bhatkal Village, Gulbarga, Nasik and Pune.

Secret operation
The team led by Maria exercised extreme caution and utmost patience as they did not want to let Bilal escape just like how IM masterminds Riyaz Bhatkal and his brother Iqbal gave the cops the slip.

The operation was so discreet that even local police were unaware of the ATS team's presence in Bangalore.

Big fish hunting
The ATS team and informers entered the service apartments in Frazer Town posing as cable operators. At times they even entered the room as ISP technicians. However, each time the cops entered the apartment, Bilal was missing. There were more than 24 abortive attempts before the suspect was finally arrested.

At times the officers were within breathing distance from the suspects. However, they were restrained by their seniors as it could hamper the entire operation.

Bikes only
The suspects used motorcycles as this gave them the freedom to traverse around the city. Members of the module were shadowed by the sleuths, also on motorbikes, on the streets of Bangalore without raising suspicion.

'Grab him'
The final go to arrest Bilal was given after almost 70 days when they were absolutely sure that they could arrest another key member Himayat Baig simultaneously.

"It is more of human intelligence," Maria told MiD DAY.

suryag · Post by **suryag** » 09 Sep 2010 20:43

looks straight out of a detective novel. Great work.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 09 Sep 2010 20:47

Indeed Great Job done by Rakesh Maria and his team persistence and patience paid.

sum · Post by **sum** » 09 Sep 2010 21:11

Great work by the ATS. Thx a ton for that nice link.

Good that the ATS is still using a good deal of HUMINT and not overly relying on TECHINT only..

nits · Post by **nits** » 09 Sep 2010 22:56

Indeed a very great work by ATS... i just feel that they should have not revealed that they visited there house as technician as this will alert others and let the modeus opeandi of ATS known...

Minor nitpics - but gr8 job...

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 09 Sep 2010 23:09

nits wrote:Indeed a very great work by ATS... i just feel that they should have not revealed that they visited there house as technician as this will alert others and let the modeus opeandi of ATS known...

Minor nitpics - but gr8 job...

Maharashtra ATS seems to be poorly led by indiscreet and voluble people as a tradition. Publicity seeking and credit grabbing.

They should learn to keep their MOUTH SHUT.

Speak minimum and do maximum, not the other way around.

A good job, nonetheless.