Amongst the many challenges that Cyber Security poses
to the Police, a less obvious but nevertheless an important Challenge is the management of
PPR, i.e., Press and Public Relations. Considering some of the latest developments
in India, this could be the real headache for the Cyber Security
Agencies when action is
intensified.
It must be recognized that, success rate of the security
forces against Cyber terrorism would certainly be lower than the success rate
against terrorism in the real world and therefore despite the money and
efforts spent on Cyber security, spectacular terrorist attacks cannot be ruled
out. When such incidents take place, there will be plenty of people around to
criticize the security forces and pull their morale down.
For example, it is well known that India has been suffering in the hands of terrorists for
more than a decade now and the devastation brought on the society by
terrorists striking at soft targets needs no special mention. But still, when
recently the Delhi Police shot down two terrorists
in a busy shopping mall,
there were some who wanted to criticize the Police and raise Human Rights Issues.
This incident highlights the problems that democratic
Governments world over face in discharging their security duties. Security is always a
thank less job. When successful, its role is not visible. But when it fails,
the whole world sits up and takes notice.
One of the problems the Security Managers face is therefore
the problem of keeping the force motivated in the light frequent successful terrorist attacks
which receive highly visible publicity. The task is even more formidable when an apparent good work is
also criticized by the same
society for whose benefits, the security forces lay down their lives.
This tendency to criticize security initiatives is not limited to India but is also prevalent
even in an advanced country such as USA where people are better educated. It has
recently surfaced in USA in the context of some of the Cyber Security
initiatives that the US Government has announced.
For example, critics are questioning the suggestion of the
US President's Cyber security initiative where the responsibilities of the
Home Computer user has been stressed. Similarly, the initiatives of open
source software vendors has also come under criticism ostensibly for security
weaknesses.
It appears that in USA, "Commercial interests" are behind
such criticisms. On the other hand, in India, the Press and the Public are
deeply divided on
political and religious affiliations and hence such considerations are often
behind the positions taken up by certain sections of the media and the public against anti terrorist
actions of the security forces.
In the coming days when Cyber Security initiatives are intensified in India, we may
therefore face stiff challenges from vested interests in both Political and
Commercial aspects. It would therefore be necessary for the Cyber Cops to fight
with the "Hackers" on the one hand and with the Arm Chair Critics on the other
hand.
The dysfunctional aspect of motivated criticism of the
security forces will have an enlarged impact in the Cyber Security scenario
since the Cyber Security Force will be a complex mixture of the trained
Policeman and the technology expert from a private sector IT Company who may act as consultant at various levels. Most of
these private sector consultants would have a low tolerance for irresponsible
criticism compared to the hard skinned regular policemen. They would therefore prefer to quit the Security force if they face
what they may consider as unwarranted
criticisms.
Since continued collaboration between the private sector
specialists and the regular Police is essential for a successful Cyber
Security strategy, the managers have to factor the effect of Media reports on
the motivation of the force and take suitable corrective action.
As a part of a successful Cyber Security strategy, it would
therefore be necessary for Cyber cops to arm themselves with the
skill to manage opinion in critical circles. Since some of these critics come from the influential
community of journalists, managing "Press Relations" and "Public Relations"
would be one of the prime tasks of the Cyber Cops in India.
Thus the PPR strategy for the Cyber Security Forces is as
important as the strategies of education, training and technology empowerment.
Naavi
November 7 , 2002
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