In two theoretical pieces and three case studies combined on one new website, genderingsurveillance.in, we highlight a range of different ways in which gender, technology and surveillance intersect. More
In 2001, the Convention on Cybercrime of the Council of Europe, also known as the Cybercrime Convention or the Budapest Convention, became the first binding international instrument to foster a common criminal policy and international cooperation to battle cybercrime in signatory States. Whether or not India should join the Convention has, since then, been a topic of intense debate. In this paper, we consider the Convention’s major strengths and weaknesses in five areas of crucial importance to Indian stakeholders. To sign or not? There might not be an easy answer, as we will show. More
In September 2015, news reports noted that India had pitched with the United States (US) for a root zone server to be placed within the country. What to make of India’s request? In order to fully understand the weight, import and potential consequences of India’s stance, it is essential to gain a deeper understanding of the root zone, its functioning and its management, as well as of India’s historical positions on related issues. In this paper, we aim to aid such understanding in several steps as we examine both a variety of technical aspects involved and the larger politico-strategic context in which India’s bid has to be understood. More
With the establishment of the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) in 2014, India has taken an important measure towards strengthening its cybersecurity. But while the establishment of NCIIPC as such is a positive step forward, several shortcomings mark, however, its implementation. In this paper, I will first briefly outline the origin and development of NCIIPC and will then go on to critically examine three challenges or limitations in particular: NCIIPC’s command and control structure; fallacies in the framework that was used to rank sectors in order of criticality; and the absence of sector-specific guidelines and standard operating procedures (SoPs). As we will see, each of these contributes to important vulnerabilities remaining in India’s critical information infrastructure (CII). More
On 27 February, 2016, the Internet Democracy Project organised a national meeting of non-governmental stakeholders at the India Habitat Centre in Delhi, to discuss the findings of its latest research study, ‘Cybersecurity, Internet Governance and India’s Foreign Policy: Historical Antecedents’ by Mr. Saikat Datta. In this report, we summarise the findings of the discussions. More
India’s stances in global Internet governance debates have often been noted, and criticised, for their strong preference for multilateral models of engagement, as different from the multistakeholder approaches that are so well-established in the field. But where does this predilection towards multilateral engagement come from? This paper maps the economic, political and historical antecedents of India’s evolving position on global Internet governance as they are shaped by its concerns on cybersecurity, by its domestic context and by its overall influence on global events as they unfold. Through this analysis, the paper hopes to contribute to a greater understanding of both India’s cybersecurity concerns and of the ways in which India approaches global Internet governance as it has emerged as one possible venue to address these pressing issues. More
In September 2015, the first U.S.-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue was held, to advance some shared priorities in the areas of security, defense and commerce. This came shortly after the India‑U.S. Cyber Dialogue in August 2015, where both countries identified opportunities for collaborating on capacity building for cybersecurity, combatting cybercrime and enhancing information sharing to counter terrorism. These events got a lot of attention for their attempts to mount cooperation between the two States. However, bilateral engagement between India and U.S on these matters is not new. Want to know more? Read on for a brief history. More
India, a leading developing country in the G77, is poised to play a critical role in the WSIS+10 Review. What is India’s position on key issues likely to be, and which actors and motivations are likely to play a crucial role in shaping its stances? This paper seeks to answer these questions, as well as to highlight opportunities for civil society engagement with the Indian government within this context. It was first published in Kaspar, Lea (ed.) (2015). The Road to WSIS+10: Key Country Perspectives in the Ten-Year Review of the World Summit on the Information Society. London: Global Partners Digital. More
With the arrival of cyberspace, a whole host of new security and other challenges have arisen which are not always adequately tackled. In order to deal with them more appropriately, India has repeatedly argued for a greater role of the UN in the formulation of international Internet-related public policies, particularly where cybersecurity is concerned. However, as the cybersecurity landscape is rather complex, it brings a range of challenges to especially India’s more ambitious proposals to mobilise the multilateral system. What are those challenges, how can we work through them, and what are possible alternative approaches to cybersecurity-related problems? We investigate. More
If India has supported economic, social and cultural rights far more vocally at global fora than civil and political rights, this is a result of both domestic security compulsions and historical foreign policy positions. Internet rights advocates’ strategies will need to take into account India’s preoccupation with sovereignty and an improved international stature to gain the country’s full support. This article was co-authored by Anja Kovacs and Saikat Datta, and first published in Lettinga, Doutje and Lars van Troost (eds.) (2015), Shifting Power and Human Rights Diplomacy: India. Amsterdam: Amnesty International Netherlands. More