VPNs must be permanently banned in India due to increase in cybercrime, Parliamentary committee urges government again

VPNs must be permanently banned in India due to increase in cybercrime, Parliamentary committee urges government again

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Parliament’s Standing Committee on Home Affairs has again urged the government to ban Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) in India. The panel cited VPN services as a technical challenge that leads to “bypassing cybersecurity walls and allowing criminals to remain anonymous on the Internet.” In its report to the Rajya Sabha on government actions on past concerns, the panel again recommended developing a “coordination mechanism” in cooperation with international agencies to permanently ban VPNs. It also asked the Home Office to strengthen tracking and monitoring mechanisms to screen VPN and dark web use.

According to the report first reported by MediaNama, the committee recommended the Ministry of Interior to work with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to identify and permanently block VPNs with the help of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the UAE. country.

The parliamentary committee’s recommendations come months after the Telecommunications Department (DoT) repealed previous regulations for the country’s IT businesses and call centers to facilitate the use of VPNs. The government simplified the rules in June of this year. The recent moves were mainly aimed at helping employees work remotely amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Titled “Action Taken by the Government on Recommendations/Observations in Report No. 233 on Atrocities and Crimes against Women and Children”, the report was submitted to the Rajya Sabha on 10 August. It was launched in March and is also available to the public through the Rajya Sabha portal. MeitY responded to the report, although the committee was not satisfied with the response.

The Ministry of Information Technology has stated the various powers under which the government can deny access to public information, including “in the interest of India’s sovereignty and safety; defense of India; state security; friendly relations with foreign states or; public order or, to prevent incitement to commit any recognizable crime related to above”. The Ministry assured the Committee that if a request to block these VPNs is received under Section 69a of the Information Technology Act, MeitY can initiate the process as specified in the said section rules.

However, MeitY does not include any specific response regarding permanently blocking VPNs. In another recommendation/note, the committee noted: “The incomplete response from the ministry where information was not provided on coordination mechanisms with international agencies to permanently block VPNs and initiatives taken/suggested to strengthen tracking and monitoring mechanisms to scrutinize on VPN and dark web usage. Internal Affairs (MHA) will use its efforts to obtain such information from MeitY and submit it to the Committee.”

In addition to banning VPNs, the Standing Committee has recommended that the government establish more cyber forensics laboratories. It also urged the Home Office to “enable all state police and law enforcement agencies (LEAs) to take appropriate action regardless of state borders while examining cybercrime.”

The committee also requested to update training courses on cybercrime for law enforcement agencies because the nature of these crimes is evolving in the country. The Home Office responded to the committee and informed that the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) National Training Center (NCTC) based in Mahipalpur, New Delhi was conducting short and long-term training and refresher courses periodically for all law enforcement agencies.

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Jagmeet Singh writes about consumer technology for Gadgets 360, from New Delhi. Jagmeet is a Senior Correspondent at Gadgets 360, and has written extensively on applications, computer security, Internet services, and communications developments. Jagmeet is available on Twitter at @jagmeetS13 or email at jagmeets@ndtv.com. Please send your leads and tips. more Google, Apple Can’t Force Payment Systems to Developers, Just Passed South Korean Bill Says