With all the terrorist threats of late, we can hardly blame India for being security-conscious these days. Now, it has turned to its roster of officials and banned them from using social networking sites such as Orkut, Ibibo, and Facebook, as well as file-sharing sites like Flickr, Picasa, and Kazaa. To top that, officials are also prevented from using web-based email services such as Gmail, Yahoo, and Hotmail for official communication. If India has been under threat for some time, most especially because of its proximity to and association with Pakistan, isn’t this heightened security consciousness coming late in the day?
The Mumbai attacks have largely and widely been blamed on failure of intelligence. Some have even said that the past terrorist attacks were not entirely a surprise. India had it coming, so to speak. The writing has been on the wall for a long time now. The compromise on security had been impending. Rightfully so, as could be obvious to practically everyone. It seems that it’s just the Indian intelligence network that had been two steps behind in security consciousness. A problem such as Kashmir, for instance, will definitely pose a security threat any which way one looks at it. Mounting political issues with Pakistan over the years, as yet another example, should definitely have brought strategies to tighten security.
The Indian government explains the recent ban of officials from using certain Internet social interaction sites as a way to avert the entry of viruses into government files. Safe Internet usage, however, is as old as the Internet itself. It is a given. Makes one think that this virus excuse is just what it is – an excuse. Everyone knows that privacy and security are never assured over the World Wide Web. Nothing new with this. It now becomes baffling why this virus alibi is being used now.
Which brings us to what could be the real issue in Indian security. There can be something deeper with this ban circular that specifically involves Indian officials whose work is related to foreign relations. Could it be that the Indian intelligence network has finally found the missing link in the so-called ‘failure of intelligence?’ Maybe, just maybe, there’s really something more than meets the average, unaided eye with both the Indian intelligence system and the country’s foreign relations and policy. If this is the case, then Facebook is, indeed, one of the first places Indian secret service agents should look into. Facebook, after all, is more – way more – than meets the eye.
Shouldn’t intelligence observe those accounts rather than prevent the account holders from using them? There is something primordial and elementary with intelligence. It’s called surveillance.
Via Telegraph.co.uk/digital inspiration
