Paris Call could be seen as a positive step towards finding a middle path between Western democracies and authoritarian regimes on the issue of cyber governance.
The BIMSTEC region offers tremendous opportunities in the field of cyber space. However, the full scope of digital dividend can only be harnessed if the countries of the region are able to get their act together and work as a team at the earliest.
One understands that long term benefits of Aadhaar actually outweighs many concerns. However, adequate norms need to be laid down from collection to retention of biometric data, in addition to formulating strong data protection and privacy laws.
Mega data breaches of user’s private digital data in the last two years has drawn the world’s attention towards protection, safe custody and management of this extremely valuable commodity.
The dexterity with which Japan handles this case and the follow-up measures it adopts will strongly influence other countries to either liberalise the use of cryptocurrencies or strictly forbid them in the interest of consumers, law enforcement and national security.
The introduction to Alexander Klimburg’s book, The Darkening Web: The War for Cyberspace, begins by referencing the Indian parable of the Blind Men of Hindoostan and the elephant to bring out the difficulty of ‘grasping the entirety of cyberspace’. The focus of his book is on international security, and more specifically, the security interests of states in cyberspace. That said, a large part of the book focuses on three countries—the United States, Russia and China—and their approaches and actions in cyberspace. Europe is mentioned largely in the context of privacy and data laws.
A dominant paradigm for militarised cyber operations, owing to a growing interest in such actions, is seeking an ability to strike back and launch cyber counter attacks immediately after being attacked. This commentary challenges view based on the argument that it leads to a contra-productive tit-for-tat game with no decisive or deterrent outcome. It argues that cyber attacks are information, which an initially passive targeted society can gather to refine and consolidate its cybersecurity and over time receive an advantage over the initial attacker.
This special feature explores the mechanics and attributes which have led to the steep rise in the popularity of cryptocurrencies, delves into the risks they pose to the user and the state, and evaluates the opportunities, risks and policy options for India.
