Naavi.org

In the domain of Global Warming and Pollution Control an innovative idea that has been used to incentivize good players and disincentivise bad players is the system of Carbon Credits. The system basically puts a cap on carbon emissions by nations and industries and in order not to be harsh on those who need time to change, a system has been developed that those who are above certain norms should buy Carbon Credits from the market. Those who have acquired Carbon Credits by their own green initiatives, will be rewarded with Carbon Credits which can be encashed by sale to those who need through appropriate exchanges. As a result farmers and plantation owners who absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere are given credits which can be sold to others who release carbon to the atmosphere. The philosophy behind this idea appears to hold promise to the development of an Information Security Eco System and we need to try the system in India at least as an experimental measure.

I propose to place some thoughts in this regard thorough this forum.

One of the problems in Cyber Security is that Cyber Space cannot be guarded like physical space by an army being placed at the border. Cyber invaders descend on any computer or mobile and spread across. Hence each individual device connected to internet can be considered as a Cyber Border and needs to be protected. If not, malware will get entry into the country.

Once malware is into the country it will get into critical IT infrastructure as well as the not so critical. All the corporate information security measures are aimed at creating pockets of secure zones which not only secure entry of malware and cyber criminals into their system and also in the process secure the cyber borders to which their own systems are exposed. If therefore a company has 1000 systems connected to internet and their information security is satisfactory, 1000 cyber border entry points are secured. At the same time another company which does not have similar security establishments will pose a threat to the nation by having a porous cyber borders.

What is therefore required in the overall context of securing the Cyber Space within the country is to encourage companies to improve their own security measures and discourage those who ignore the cyber security practices.

If therefore a company wants to introduce cyber security and is prepared to incur costs which its competitors are avoiding, there is a need to build incentive and disincentive schemes to even out the competitive pressures which make companies not implement available information security standard practices.

It is in this context that I propose that we introduce a system where by we define a norm say for each industry and also define performance measuring parameters so that we can identify those who do better than the norm or worse than the norm, keep a ledger of their performance and develop a system where the under performers pay an extra tax while the over performers get a subsidy. The effort is to encourage every body move to a given normative stage. Periodically the normative level can be redefined to ensure that the cyber security eco system keeps pace with the global requirements.

The Government has to obviously step in to define the normative levels and the measurement of performance. If possible industry regulators say RBI for Banks can also initiate similar measures. Once the system is in place, Info sec credits can be given to the over performers and infosec debits can be placed on the under performers. Then the under performers will have to buy credits and show a nil balance say whenever their financial balance sheets are drawn. Government can provide tax incentives and disincentives based on the info sec credit balances declared in the balance sheets.

Simultaneously, recognizing that “Cyber Security Awareness” is an important input to the development of a Cyber Security Eco System and whom so ever acquires cyber security knowledge in the form of certifications and whom so ever contributes to education of Cyber security knowledge should also be provided with appropriate credit points which can be traded in the secondary market for info sec credits or exchanged for tax credits.

It is envisaged that under equilibrium conditions, the market will pay for itself to upgrade the cyber security status of the eco system and the Government need not incur expenses on its own. However until a proper secondary market develops, the Government may provide “Tax Credits” in exchange of “Info-Sec Credits” so that those who earn such credits can encash the benefits.

Naavi

Comments are invited

When India started using Digital Signatures after the ITA 2000 was enacted, CCA had approved MD5 algortithm for hashing. Susequently, MD5 was disaccredited and SHA-1 was being used as approved algorithms. Global developments now indicate that time has come for users to move from SHA-1 to SHA-2 since SHA-1 has either been already cracked or is about to be cracked.

Related Article: 

Crypto experts inidcate that  by end of Dec 2015, Chrome may start providing browser warnings and by 2016-17, both Chrome and Microsoft may discontinue acceptance of SHA-1 in the applications. This may result in SSL/TLS authentication certificates need to be replaced by websites.

If SHA-1 is unreliable for SSL-TLS, it should also be considered unreliable for the Indian Digital Signature system which carries the judicial weight for non repudiation.

We are already in 2015 and many digital signature users may be using a 2 year  valid digital signature certificate which may overlap with the discontinuance of the SHA-1 certificates by the international community.

In order to preserve the sanctity of the Digital Signature system of India, it is necessary for CCA to take steps to migrate completely to SHA-2 which is already an approved system, by phasing out SHA-1 in time. Hopefully CA s are making necessary arrangements so that we are in tune with global security standards.

Naavi

Just yesterday, we were congratulating SEBI on its intended progressive use of technology for e-IPO. Unfortunately, today we need to point out the serious security issues that remain to be addressed when IT usage is taken to critical areas such as investments.

A whistle blower from Singapore has now revealed a major fraud which he alleges has been going on in NSE for a long time which has been hushed up by the Stock Exchange.

The enclosed document  provides in graphic detail the modus operandi used by certain broking firms to gain unfair advantage in trading with the connivance of the staff at NSE. (Also read this article in Moneylife)

Similar tactics were employed earlier in IRCTC which was brought to public notice by Naavi.org. However, in comparison, the impact of the present fraud in NSE is far far greater.

It is possible that NSE might have tightened up the security now. However there is a need to identify the individuals responsible for the fraud and send them to jail for life.

Hushing up is providing protection to such fraudsters who may re surface in other companies.

NASSCOM also has to issue a notice to NSE so that the “National Skills Registry” contains the correct information about these fraudsters.

People like Arnab who bark up the wrong tree need to address issues such as these instead of shouting on political rivals.

The incident also highlights how information security audit of NSE system has failed and can fail again in future.

We do understand that rather than blaming everybody in the administration, we need to appreciate the corrective measures taken and enable the management to set things right without any panic reaction that may cause more damage.

We look forward to a proper explanation from NSE authorities along with an assurance that checks and balances will be built to address such issues in future.

At the same time we need to thank the whistle blower for bringing the problem to public knowledge.

Naavi

One of the most exciting manifestations of the Digital India story is in the process of being unleashed in the Indian investment scenario shortly.  The undersigned was one of the financial professionals who has seen the Capital markets in all its glory when it was a retail market where millions of investors used to participate in IPOs. (It was then termed Public Issues). The undersigned had also created an index to project the investment potential of a proposed public issue at different prices etc. However subsequently, changes in the policy of SEBI converted the IPO markets from a retail market to a whole sale market.

Now the sunny days for the IPO market appears to back with SEBI finalizing a proposal for e-IPO. SEBI is expected to finalize a detailed guideline for e-IPOs by the end of this month as per this ET report.

SEBI’s discussion paper

SEBI had issued a discussion paper which provides some details of what may be coming forth. This is an attempt to use the current secondary market infrastructure where investors have been investing in various capital market instruments through their brokers using e-investment tools. Since IT provides  all the flexibility for auctioning, reverse auctioning, instant processing of applications etc, it is the ideal platform to involve a large number of Netizen investors directly in the process of IPO.

In fact just as Retail business has seen a sea change with Flipkart/Snap deal/Amazon etc coming into fray, the e-IPOs are sure to revive the retail interest in the primary markets which is very essential for the growth of Capital markets in India. This is bound to give a huge boost to the capital markets much more than a good monsoon this year or a RBI dropping interest rates or Inflation coming down etc which are being touted as huge market movers.

I congratulate SEBI on its move.

Before we end, there is of course a Cyber Law angle into the development since IPO applications need to be “Digitally Signed” and the Certifying authorities may be rejoicing the development. I recall that one of the first E-Commerce initiatives I had personally supervised was the hosting of public issue application forms of Corporation Bank some time in the mid 80’s with a running serial number which was a great innovation at that time. Lot of water has flowed under the bridge since then and we will now see an e-form being filled up and digitally signed, application electronically processed and demat shares issued all in the back end servers…. Three Cheers to ICT revolution..

Naavi

In the cacophony surrounding the Times Now campaign against Sushma Swaraj, the media did not high light an important event yesterday where the Chief of the Anti Corruption Bureau (Appointed by the LG) complained that his office was bugged with spy devices for voice recording. The “Pen like spying  tool” was reportedly found in his office. (See report here)

The natural inference is that it was planted there by Arvind Kejriwal’s group which has appointed its own chief for the same Anti Corruption Bureau.

Apart from the political issues involved in two officials working in the same capacity, what needs to be recognized is that “Unauthorised implant of spying devices” is a serious violation of Privacy.

Unfortunately India does not have a good Privacy Protection law and hence we need to struggle to find out how this prima facie offence can be brought under legal scrutiny.

It is essential for Mr Ravi Shankar Prasad to examine if there is a need to amend ITA 2008 to enable such offences be recognized without ambiguity, when the next revision is undertaken.

Naavi

Arnab Goswami has been a disruptive influence on the TV media especially in the last one year. Times Now claims that it has made a huge progress in media ratings because of Mr Arnab’s antics. Mr Rajdeep Sardesai who was once a Guru of Arnab has now become a secondary journalist and has to team up with Rahul Kanwal and others to fight Arnab. Even Bukah Dutt has become subdued under the verbal onslought of Arnab. In fact the predicament of the competing channels is evident from the fact that they are running ad campaigns depicting Times Now as  the “Noice Channel” and “Circus Channel”.

Recognizing this contribution of Mr Arnab Goswami, he has been recently elevated as President and Editor in Chief of Times Now and more importantly ET Now. (Refer article here).

As if intoxicated by this new found recognition from within, Arnab Goswami went hammer and tongs at Sushma Swaraj yesterday even announcing that his reporter was waiting at the gate of Sushma Swaraj’s residence expecting her to come out any time and announce her resignation to the press. Unfortunately, BJP called his bluff and refused to budge to his wishes. He is ofcourse trying again today and continuing his tirade against BJP much to the delight of Congress and Aam Admi Party.

Now with the new found responsibility in ET Now, it would be amusing to see whether the noice levels increase in the studios of ET Now and whether it would disturb the clear leadership that CNBC TV possesses in this market.

If we predict the influence of Arnab on ET Now, we can expect more of negative reports from ET Now particularly on the Reliance Group companies which own CNBC TV. There could even be a “Combo Attack” by both Times Now and ET Now on Reliance companies for a domino effect in bringing down the share prices.

There have been many financial journals which we have seen in the past which have adopted the “Black Mail Strategy” to growth where they publish negative reports to boost circulation and extract benefits of various kinds. Most of them have however withered away after flattering to deceive.

So far, the Arnab antics was limited to Political discussions and affected the country only in the political scenario. Now that he will have a hand in the management of economic news, his potential to bring down the future of India has increased.

We may therefore have another Kejriwal of the Indian media set to destroy the economic progress of the country.

However, there is one management principle that we all need to remember. It is called the “Peter’s Principle”. I suppose this will start working now in the case of Arnab. His strategies which worked well for political debates with an audience who rejoice the noisy debates for fun, may fail miserably in the investor market. And Arnab might have been elevated to his “level of inefficiency” as Peter’s principle enunciates.

The ground is set for the same since what Arnab Goswami has claimed in yesterday’s report includes a claim to possess confidential emails of some persons which he has used for the furtherance of his business. This is a prima facie offence under Section 66 of Information Technology Act 2008 which is a cognizable offence. If any person files a complaint, the Police will have no option but to register an FIR, and investigate whether Times Now was directly or indirectly involved in the hacking of email accounts of any one of the stake holders whose names have come out during the exposure of the emails.

The only defense that Arnab will have would be to claim that what seems to be an offence was done without malicious intention and with public interest. He will also claim that he is exercising a “Freedom of Speech” and he cannot be questioned on his reports. These however is not a defense against any civil claims if any that may also be filed by various persons whom the report has tried to defame.

Naavi