Mr. Chairman and Distinguished Delegates

          I deem it a great honour to be invited to address this august audience as one of the lead Speakers on a subject of Technological Threats to International, National and Personal Security’. Technology is a generic term and  UNESCO  has defined it as ‘…the know-how and creative processes that may assist people to utilize tools, resources and systems to solve problems and to enhance control over the natural and made environment in an endeavour to improve the human condition’  . 

BENEFITS & ILL EFFFECTS OF TECHNOLOGY

2. Advances in technology have led to rapid progress of civilizations.  To cite a few examples, technology brought agricultural revolution.  Similarly, the industrial revolution was powered by steam technology.  Digital revolution has given birth to cyber space. Satellite communication was made possible by space technology. Thus technology has revolutionized human existence in many ways. Though the benefits of technology are great it is not without ill effects.

OVER DEPENEDENCE ON TECHNOLOGY

3.  As  the dependence of human race  on technology increases   more and more, threats to the safety and security of the state and its subjects also increase manifold.

CYBERSPACE AS SECURITY THREAT

4. Convergence of computers and networks has revolutionized the way we communicate with each other and has led to the birth of cyber space which poses challenges to the security at the international, national and personal level in various ways. 

VANISHING BORDERS -CYBERSPACE

5.  It is a well established principle of international law that control over physical space and over people is a definite attribute of sovereignty and statehood. Cyberspace challenges this assumption. Cyber space is a borderless environment. It has no territorial  boundaries. The internet  address has no relation to the physical location of computers and individuals thus posing insurmountable difficulties for the application of the traditional theories of jurisdiction based on territoriality or nationality to Cyberspace. Thus vanishing borders in the cyberspace is a serious concern for international security.

ANONYMITY AND PSEUDONYMITY 

6.  Cyberspace facilitates anonymity and pseudonymity  enabling  persons to acquire new digital personalities in cyberspace masking their real flesh and blood personalities which enables criminals  to conceal their identities.  Unlike in the physical world where it is difficult for a person to hide his physical features, demeanor and other physical attributes from their fellow human beings, in cyberspace, anonymity and pseudonymity enable criminals to disguise their identities. Since identification of offenders is essential for imposing criminal law, serious problems are faced in fixing criminal liability. Application of the theory of nationality to actors in cyberspace also is bristling with difficulty because of anonymity. Thus the practice of rampant anonymity prevailing in cyberspace constitutes a formidable threat to the sovereignty of the nation States. 

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY

7. At the international level, terrorists have access to same technology which is used for the benefit of mankind and have shifted their activities to cyber space leading to what is called cyber terrorism along with other related types of threats. Cyber terrorism consists of terrorist acts perpetrated in cyberspace to cripple and disrupt critical infrastructure of the communities so that citizens are denied their basic needs like electricity, gas, communication facilities which will create panic in the minds of the general public. Also disruption of essential services will lead to break down of law and order within the country. Cyber tools can be used by terrorists to disrupt the communication networks which will have far reaching ramifications for aviation, rail and other transport services. Global financial markets are networked and any disruption will result in stock markets crashes which will be disastrous for the global economy. Thus terrorist can use cyber tools to threaten   international security.

SECURITY THREAT AT PERSONAL LEVEL

8. At the personal level, technology is all pervasive and intrudes into privacy and autonomy of the individuals.  Communication over the internet and digital devices like cell phones today can be easily accessed by third parties compromising the privacy of  communication. This poses a grave threat to the right of privacy of individuals. Information hiding tools based on cryptography and steganography have been  developed by computer scientists to preserve the integrity of information and secrecy in the digital medium.  The same tools are utilised by terrorists and criminals to hide information for committing crimes.     To deal with offences involving electronic medium,  investigating agencies have developed new digital techniques known as digital forensics which deal with capturing and seizing information generated and stored  digitally. But it is extremely difficult to arrive at the truth  when the accused person cannot be  compelled to part with any information which will incriminate himself in the criminal proceedings. Right against self incrimination is a constitutional right enshrined in the constitutions of all civilized countries. Hence law enforcement agencies will have to focus on capacity building to deal with steganography and cryptography.   
9. Dignitaries, it is not that we are unaware of the issues I am raising here. But I am raising them in order to put things in a perspective. The real challenge confronting us as law makers, however, is how to tackle the various manifestations of technological threats that seek to destabilize social systems and endanger national security and personal security alike. How to ensure that security from technological threats is the real issue.

10. Laws to deal with threats emanating from technologies must be based on best international practices. It is in accordance with this that we in India enacted the Information Technology Act 2000 and amended subsequently in 2008, to address the new challenges posed by cyberspace. However, globally speaking it appears that not much progress has been achieved in the context of creating a uniform legal framework to deal with cyber crimes.

11. In other words, nations need to work collectively to prevent the misuse of modern technology and scientific advances which are basically meant for the advancement of human welfare and comfortable living. As Parliamentarians, we must encourage Governments across the world to create a culture of collaboration and cooperation among the law enforcement and investigation agencies in order to create a common platform for better understanding of emerging technologies and for sharing best practices, especially in the context of protecting vital information infrastructure and sensitive networking systems. I hope the deliberations in this Workshop would throw more light on the issues involved and generate a greater perspective amongst us in order to impress our respective Governments on the need for a collective approach and common framework of cooperation.

Thank you for your kind attention.