Cyber intelligence needed for enhancing national security
The tech and cyber worlds were outraged this past week as the Pegasus Project investigation unveiled the massively unethical software hacking and data leak by use of spyware. Various international media including The Guardian, The Washington Post and Reuters, among others, reported that Pegasus spyware was used as part of cyber surveillance in many countries that hacked hundreds of smartphones belonging to heads of states, heads of government, government officials, politicians, diplomats and ambassadors, judiciary and media persons, and human rights activists, among others.
The King of Morocco, the President of France, and the prime ministers of Morocco, Egypt and Pakistan are included in the target list of more than 50,000 phone numbers, stated The Washington Post. Le Monde further reported that several Delhi-based diplomats and ambassadors, including the Nepalese ambassador, are on the potential targets' list, as are Pakistani government officials. "The numbers of Imran Khan [Prime Minister of Pakistan] and several of his ambassadors in India appear on the list as potential targets. Dozens of other Delhi-based diplomats and ambassadors are included, from Iran, Afghanistan, China, Nepal and Saudi Arabia," stated Le Monde.
The spyware called Pegasus is reportedly licensed by the NSO Group, an Israeli company. Once this malware infects Android and iPhone devices and smartphones, it can extract messages, photos and files from the device and secretly activate cameras and microphone. Smartphone users remain unaware as to whether their device is infected. The NSO Group claims it sells that spyware only to governments, for intelligence and legal agencies to use it against criminals and terrorists. Instead, it has been used to target government and international agencies' officials, heads of states and governments, diplomats, and other government and public officials.
It is condemnable that these actors are being spied on. Snooping on government officials and diplomats may lead to a gap of trust between nations and erode bilateral relations, if it is proven that the governments of the host states themselves are involved in a conspiracy to spy on officials of the sending states. It is a grave threat to the national security and sovereignty of nations whose officials are being hacked.
Billions of people worldwide use mobile phones as their primary source of communication and many depend on the internet and social media as a major source of information. Data shows that nearly 3.8 billion people, 48.33 percent of the global population, use smartphones, out of more than 5.27 billion who use mobile phones worldwide. By 2023, worldwide mobile users are likely to cross 7.33 billion, predicts Statista, a market and consumer data portal. According to the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), there are more than 10.38 billion mobile connections, including cellular Internet of Things, worldwide. In addition, there are more than 4.72 billion internet users and 4.33 billion who use social media; average internet penetration is 59.5 percent globally, while it is 96 percent in northern Europe (real-time GSMA intelligence data as of January 2021).
In Bangladesh, total internet subscribers number 117.31 million (107.50 million mobile internet and 9.81 million ISP plus PSTN users), and internet penetration is 28.8 percent. There are 175.27 million mobile subscribers (as of May 2021) and more than 45 million social media users, stated the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).
Mobile subscriptions are more than the total population in Bangladesh (as it is in neighbouring Nepal). The Internet and social media are public platforms where large amounts of public data that influence public policy, decision-making, politics, diplomacy, military, research, intellectual property and finance are shared. The crucial task is to manage, monitor and secure this digital data, while massive amounts of data are being assembled and exploited by various state and non-state actors. Due to the poor digital infrastructure in banks, power-grids, telecom and airports, Bangladesh and Nepal have frequently witnessed critical cybersecurity threats. This has been an emerging challenge for their national security.
Amid the high possibility of cyber-battles between the two populous and economic giant rivals India and China or between arch-rivals India and Pakistan, neighbouring countries need to strengthen cybersecurity preparedness in advance. Governments need to think in advance of establishing a dedicated cybersecurity centre. Taking into account geo-location, geo-political proximity and dependency on others, countries need to march ahead into the spheres of artificial intelligence and big data. Data and technological sovereignty will be key to determining power capability and wealth for nations.
The Global Cyber Security Index 2020 shows that Bangladesh and Nepal rank 53rd and 94th respectively in global rankings out of 182 countries, and 11th and 17th respectively out of the 37 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Previously, in 2018, they were at the 78th and 109th positions and ranked 15th and 20th respectively regionally. The index is assessed based on the countries' engagement in five key measures—legal, technical, organisational, capacity development and cooperation. Both Bangladesh and Nepal have significantly progressed in the cybersecurity sphere in recent years. Nevertheless, rising in the index alone may not bring cybersecurity to our two countries. They have to be pragmatic in devising strategic and intelligence policies, and have to foster partnerships with the concerned security agencies, ICT providers, industries, academics, and civilians for a sustainable cybersecurity situation. Various legislative policies regarding big data, data protection, privacy, intellectual property, cyber-crime and cyber-terrorism, among others, need to be revised and updated based on the contemporary needs of the society and nation. National security policy has to be pragmatically shifted to developing a resilient national cybersecurity architecture.
Learning from past failures of political, diplomatic and security intelligence as well as internal weaknesses and power conflicts at various junctures of history, both countries need to take pragmatic steps in upgrading their intelligence mechanisms. For this, they need to invest rationally in intelligence and develop a sound intelligence culture as part of a soft security strategy. Advanced and updated technology needs to be used to gather information from the political sphere around the world. Improved communication systems and corresponding data security are essential for countries like Bangladesh and Nepal. Technically, an advanced intelligence unit needs to be set up such that it would provide time-sensitive data on a real-time basis, which will enable the countries to enhance national security.
GP Acharya is a researcher, analyst and thinker based in Kathmandu, Nepal.
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