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CENTRAL MONITORING SYSYTEM (CMS ) AND NETRA

Central Monitoring System of India

In April 2013, India began implementing a $75 million clandestine Central Monitoring
System (CMS) that will allow the government to access all digital communications and
telecommunications in the country under the guidelines issued by DOT (Department
Of TeleCommunication).

Content covered by the CMS will include all online activities, phone calls, landlines, text
messages and even social media conversations.

The salient features of CMS are as follows:

Central and regional database which will help Central and State level Law Enforcement
Agencies in Interception and Monitoring.

Direct Electronic Provisioning of target numbers by Government agencies without any


manual intervention from Telecom Service Providers (TSPs).

Filters and Alert creation on the target numbers.

Call Data Records (CDR) analysis and data mining on CDRs to identify call details,
location details etc. of the target numbers.

Netra (Network And Traffic Analysis System) or Internet Spy System

The 'Netra' internet spy system has been developed by Centre for Artificial Intelligence
and Robotics (CAIR), a lab under Defence Research and Development
Organization (DRDO).

It is currently being tested by Intelligence Bureau and Cabinet Secretariat and will be
deployed to all national security agencies.

Use of words like 'attack', 'bomb', 'blast' or 'kill' in tweets, status updates, emails or blogs
will be put to surveillance by security agencies as the government will soon launch
'Netra'.

The Home Ministry is giving finishing touches to 'Netra', which will be deployed by all
security agencies to capture any dubious voice traffic passing through software like

Skype or Google Talk, besides write-ups in tweets, status updates, emails, instant
messaging transcripts, internet calls, blogs and forums.

A Maximum of three security agencies, including Intelligence Bureau and Cabinet


Secretariat, would be allotted storage of 300GB to accommodate intercepted data while
an extra space of 100GB will be assigned to other agencies of law enforcement.

Differences between CMS and Netra


Central Monitoring System

Netra

Phone tapping and the CMS monitor


specific targets.
It is related with targeted surveillance
of any specific telephone, mobile or
webpage.

Its main objective is to check abuse of


internet or telecommunication through
use of obscene messages or pictures
which may result into communal
tensions or turbulent situations.

Netra is vast and indiscriminate and


monitors the entire internet in totality.
It is related with mass surveillance of
internet for words such as attack,
bomb, kill etc. and not with
telephones.
Its main objective is to check terrorist
activities operating through internet
and ensure internal security of India.

Digital Freedom Under Threat?

CMS makes the process of tapping more prone to misuse by the state. If the state can
intercept communication directly, without making requests to a private
telecommunication service provider, then it is one less layer of scrutiny through which
the abuse of power can reach the public.

There is no one to ask whether the requisite paperwork is in place or to notice a dramatic
increase in interception requests.

Opponents of the system and human rights advocates worry the government may abuse
the CMS to monitor or arrest political critics rather than to enhance national security as
intended.

CMS may violate Article 21 of the Constitution guaranteeing personal liberty.

It is argued that without comprehensive privacy laws in India, the system will not be
sufficiently accountable, and could chill free expression.

Suggestions for more accountable surveillance

In 2011, Parliament passed new data protection rules, but there is still no privacy law in
India. So, Parliament must pass a Privacy Bill to address data protection and improper
surveillance of people.

Indian government should establish a proper mechanism ensuring transparency, public


oversight and monitoring the surveillance activity carried out by state even without
notifying the naive
citizens.

Establishment of a Privacy Commission as a regulatory body to address the breach of


privacy rights of citizens and as a grievance redressal institute.

Indian government should also establish a proper and strict mechanism to ensure that no
data of any kind travels to foreign nations because in that case our sovereignty would be
badly threatened. For this purpose India can ask Google, Facebook, Yahoo and other
internet giants for setting up local servers in India.

Conclusion
In the wake of national security and use of Internet by terrorist groups to carry out their
operations, India needs to immediately establish a system like Netra to arrest such activities. But
it should not go with an unaccountable and opaque system, rather it should constitute a
transparent and just system which should ensure privacy rights of civilians. Moreover it should
not be used be used for any type of political benefits but should we harnessed to prevent the
terrorist activities operating through internet.

--Ashish Sharma

References:

http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2013/11/india-online-report-freedom-expressiondigital-freedom-3/
http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=54679
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-01-06/news/45918687_1_securityagencies-netra-inter-ministerial-group
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/big-brother-is-watching-you/article5530857.ece
http://ptlb.in/clpic/?p=261

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