WhatsApp should play a proactive role in stopping breaches - Gulshan Rai
Gulshan Rai, the National Cybersecurity Coordinator in the Prime Minister’s Office shares his views on the breach of the WhatsApp platform affecting 121 Indian citizens.
Rai thinks the news is not a surprise to him. If the nature of the technology is seen, when one downloads an app, the app takes away all their data, whether or not they are taking the consent. This is the basic philosophy of any application. Similarly, when one installs WhatsApp, the application also asks the same permissions. In this case, the only difference is that someone has installed a software on the phone and bypassed permission from the owner or the user of the phone. He or she doesn’t have the knowledge or the choice to install the app. Someone else chose the target where to install. In that way, it is malicious as malware has become very sophisticated.
Rai has been involved in the defensive part of cybersecurity. He used to see only security breaches. Cybersecurity and intelligence gathering are two separate issues. The case of WhatsApp fits more into intelligence gathering, though in all such cases security is breached.
He points out people are alleging the Government of India (is involved) but there is no evidence. The government tries its best to enforce that foreign companies should follow the law of India. He is sure the government will also address further concerns in the pending Data Protection Act and the IT Ministry’s intermediary rules. It is taking serious note of all this happening. There is no lethargy or latency, but the area is so complicated and complex that 100 per cent security is not possible.
He also thinks that WhatsApp is the one that should have stopped this immediately. If they failed to detect it or stop it, and their USP is end-to-end encryption, they should be held accountable for a privacy breach. They should give the Government of India permission to audit the entire incident. And every citizen has a right to take them to the court now that privacy is a fundamental right.
WhatsApp should be able to come out and say who has been breached.
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