Challenges to Internal Security Through Communication Networks

Challenges to internal security through communication networks are a growing concern for governments and organizations worldwide. The rapid advancement of digital technology and the widespread use of communication networks have created new opportunities for various threats to emerge. Have you ever wondered about the challenges to internal security through communication networks? To know more about it, read further.

‘’The internet is the largest experiment involving anarchy in history. (…) It is a source for tremendous good and potentially dreadful evil, and we are only just beginning to witness its impact on the world stage.” – Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman, Google and Jared Cohen, Director, Google Ideas’’

The Internet taking a gigantic leap every day. This has triggered an information revolution all over the world.

It has forced people, governments, and organizations, both public and private, to rethink strategies on how they manage their information engage in an increasingly interconnected world, and produce an entirely new ecosystem of information exchange.

Technological innovations are rapid and constantly evolving, making barriers, borders, and control irrelevant.

Challenges to internal security through communication networks are a growing concern for governments and organizations worldwide. The rapid advancement of digital technology and the widespread use of communication networks have created new opportunities for various threats to emerge.

Growth of Social Media

• The statistics of social media users in India is pegged to 143 million and a 100 percent jump in the number of users in rural India from 2014 to 2015.3
• The report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India hints that the fact that almost two-thirds of the users are already accessing social media through their mobiles is a promising sign.
• With the expected increase in mobile traffic, the number of users accessing social media on mobile is only bound to increase Despite internet penetration not crossing 16% of the population, the availability of low-cost mobile devices has become a game changer.
• India is the largest market for the social networking site Facebook, with an estimated 371 million Mobile internet users, after the US.
• Of its 142 million strong user base in India, 133 million access the social media platform through their mobile phones.
• YouTube, Google’s video-sharing website, gets 60 million hits a month in India.
• Micro-blogging site Twitter has 22.2 million users in India, making it its third largest user base in the world.

Although these numbers are mind-boggling, the Government agencies may not be able to match pace with the radical innovations in technology concerning the law, security, and order, but they will have to be proactive in their engagement and outreach efforts in e-governance, ensure collaboration of civil society and have standard operating procedures in place which could be operationalized in times of emergency.

Also read: Virtual Private Network

Impact Of Social Media And New Challenges

With the Indian government, uniquely depending on internet platforms for its socio-economic empowerment schemes and its development, it also heightens the risks of India’s vulnerabilities.

• India has witnessed the potential of social media in coordinating large-scale protests across the country with the ‘India Against Corruption movement led by Anna Hazare in 2011 that tested the local security infrastructure to a great extent.
• In 2012, in the aftermath of the ethnic clashes in Assam, Mobile, and social network interfaces were used to send offensive clips and hate messages that triggered panic and mass exodus of northeast Indians from large parts of India.
• In September 2013, a morphed video on YouTube was used to instigate communal riots in Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh that created turbulence in the society.
• In 2014, the arrest of a Bangalore-based executive, who was accused of being the man behind the terror group Islamic State’s (ISIS) most influential Twitter handle in India
• It has been proved that social media has become a potent tool for radicalization and online recruits by terror groups
• Social media was flooded with photos of militants in the North East, posing in the forests with assault rifles. This group NSCN-K was responsible for an ambush on the Indian Army that had killed 18 soldiers in Manipur. It signals that the “war of ideas against the establishment” is no longer covert, but aims to inspire recruits overtly.
• The Case of “Facebook Militant” Burhan Wani has serious consequences for India’s national security as seen in the resurgence of unrest in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in July 2016. The mass violence was triggered in the aftermath of the killing of Burhan Wani, the Hizbul Mujahideen commander who was infamously known as the “Facebook Militant” in mass media. His idea of ‘’Khilafat’’ propaganda videos went viral on social media and placed the Kashmir rebellion in the larger discourse of Islamist movements across the world.

Social media seems to be their weapon of war.

These incidents snowballed into a cyber-security challenge and exposed a facet of the medium that could be exploited by anti-national elements and required immediate attention.

In addition, we are also witnessing the growth of the “New Media Phenomenon” where conventional media (mainly television) is increasingly relying on social media to feed its 24-hour news cycles and picking content and coverage led by social media trends.

The convergence of various forms of media—television, social, and online networks have doubled the impact and acted as instruments of information that replicate the threat to law and order as well as security.

This needs to be tapped by security and law enforcement agencies against the perpetrators of crimes.

Indian agencies are aware of the looming challenge. Apart from online surveillance to isolate influencers and prevent mishaps, emphasis has been made on instituting a de-radicalization program that addresses the issue at three levels:

1. through preventive arrests
2. counter-narratives to discourage the youth and give incentives to renounce violence
3. to work at the micro level with individuals.

Legal Challenges

During times of crisis, governments find themselves in a spot, because social media service providers like Facebook, Google (YouTube, Blogspot), Twitter, etc., provide web and social media services from their servers installed in their home countries, and hence they ought to comply only with their nation’s laws.

Cyber security experts in India have been pressing the government to formulate laws that clarify the legal position on whether the law of the land or the law of the countries where the Internet companies are headquartered will take precedence in cyberspace.

Social networking sites need to conform to local laws and sensitivities when it comes to blocking Web content

Revision of the legal regime is mandatory since the IT Act 2000 conceived 16 years ago was meant to promote e-commerce and is incapable of resolving the challenges put forth by the rapid explosion of new technologies like social media.

The National Cyber Security Policy doesn’t have any provisions to deal with social media. Hence, a macro-level implementation has to be adopted at the earliest.

Read: Cyber security in India

Challenges to Internal Security Through Communication Networks

Here are some key challenges related to internal security through communication networks:

Cyberattacks:

• Cyberattacks encompass a wide range of activities, including hacking, malware distribution, and distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. These attacks can disrupt critical infrastructure, steal sensitive data, and compromise the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information.

Data Breaches:

• Data breaches occur when unauthorized individuals or groups gain access to confidential information, such as personal data, financial records, or classified documents. These breaches can lead to identity theft, financial fraud, and espionage.

Phishing and Social Engineering:

• Phishing attacks involve tricking individuals into revealing sensitive information by posing as a trustworthy entity. Social engineering tactics manipulate people into divulging confidential data, making it challenging to protect against these threats.

Malware and Ransomware:

• Malware, including ransomware, is malicious software designed to infiltrate computer systems and encrypt or steal data. Ransomware can lock users out of their systems until a ransom is paid, causing significant disruption.

Fake News and Disinformation:

• Communication networks can be used to spread fake news and disinformation, which can incite violence, sow discord, and influence public opinion negatively. This poses a significant challenge to social cohesion and national security.

Radicalization and Extremism:

• Extremist groups and individuals use communication networks to radicalize and recruit followers. Online platforms and social media enable the dissemination of extremist ideologies and propaganda.

Cyber Espionage and State-Sponsored Attacks:

• Nation-states engage in cyber espionage and cyberattacks to steal sensitive information, disrupt critical infrastructure, or gain a strategic advantage. These attacks can have severe national security implications.

IoT Vulnerabilities:

• The proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices has introduced new security vulnerabilities. Weaknesses in IoT security can be exploited to gain access to networks, potentially compromising critical systems.

Supply Chain Attacks:

• Attackers may compromise the supply chain of communication network equipment, software, or services. This can lead to the introduction of malicious components into network infrastructure.

Privacy Concerns:

• The collection and misuse of personal data by organizations and governments can erode privacy rights. Privacy breaches can lead to public outrage and legal challenges.

Law Enforcement and Surveillance Balancing Act:

• Balancing the need for surveillance and law enforcement with individuals’ privacy rights is an ongoing challenge. Striking the right balance while maintaining civil liberties is crucial.

Way forward

The way forward is walking the tightrope on privacy concerns and balancing security imperatives. Such unprecedented developments in Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) provide immense potential for successful participative governance initiatives in India.

But technology is a double-edged sword. It also throws up new challenges in the realm of law and order. We see that Social Networks facilitate the act of engagement between like-minded people, groups, or communities.

The Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) drafted the “Framework and Guidelines for Use of Social Media for Government Organisations” that states social media in recent times has become synonymous with social networking sites like Facebook, YouTube, and micro-blogging sites like Twitter.

The National Cyber Security Policy, 2014, envisions the creation of centers of excellence for various capacity-building exercises including assistance to law enforcement agencies some provisions can be included to impart personnel training and develop techniques dedicated to social media technologies.

• Revising data scientists’ curricula in universities, who are experts in extracting intelligence from the media effectively.
• Collaborations with international agencies to learn from their experiences must be encouraged.
• Especially in situations where conflict is triggered by the misuse of social media, it has been suggested that the government work with social media service companies. This helps in creating mechanisms where in case of emergencies, provisions for 24×7 responses to complaints are available.
• It is also suggested that an independent, autonomous, and proactive privacy commissioner be established to make the process more transparent and monitor and prevent misuse of any information.
• Along with the technology, the conceptualization and adoption of law and order framework policies are a steep learning curve, but it is time to recognize our shortcomings deal head-on with the challenges, and engage with the opportunities that technology has brought to our doorstep.

Article written by: Sulochana Anu