'Agencies demand legal immunity in cyber deterrence cases'

Following security agencies' demand for legal immunity in cyber deterrence cases, the Deputy National Security Adviser is working on setting up an inter-ministerial group to look into the issue, sources said.
"The Intelligence Bureau has said legal authority for cyber deterrence is very important for agencies in dealing with matters like terrorism. Citing the example of some countries, which have oversight mechanism, agencies have demanded legal immunity," an official source told PTI.
The USA for example has full-fledged mechanism in place to monitor foreign accounts, sources said.
At present, cyber deterrence act like hacking into one's computer in the interest of national security is not allowed under normal circumstances, sources said. The agencies need to follow a very tedious procedure to get permission for this.

In a recent meeting on cyber security , a representative of the DoT said the Department could make some provisions in the calling line identification guidelines that will enable monitoring of at least foreign nationals in the country.
The Deputy National Security Adviser, Nehchal Sandhu, is working on setting up an inter-ministerial group comprising the Law Ministry, the Department of Electronics and IT, the Department of Telecom (DoT), IB and the Home Ministry to identify gaps in existing legislation and regulations as well as measures to bridge them, sources said.
"Issues relating to legal authorities and protection for cyber security are a mix of number of issues -- data protection, privacy, monitoring. Domestic legal provisions are not applicable for deterrence action abroad. Cyber deterrence aspects need to be dealt with separately by concerned agencies," the source said.

The IMG recommendations after review will be placed before competent authority for approval, the source said.