The Indian intelligence apparatus is working on an ambitious project that aims to create an information-sharing platform for national intelligence agencies.
Work on this information sharing-project is being done along with IIT Chennai
NEW DELHI: The Indian intelligence apparatus is working on an ambitious project that aims to create an information-sharing platform for national intelligence agencies working within the country and overseas.
Officials in the know said the National Technical Research Organisation has been working on it in collaboration with prominent technical universities like the Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai for the last two years.
The NTRO, the technical arm of Indian intelligence reports to the National Security Advisor and the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister.
Officials privy to some aspects of the project say that on a basic level, the proposed platform will be on the lines of a ‘wiki’ and authorised users will be able to add, edit and correct information posted on the platform.
“Once a user — invariably from the agencies sharing the system —logs on to the system, the content will be available to him for correction, editing or additions. Every such addition will be cross-checked by other users and the information will stay on the page if it holds good unanimously,” said a senior official in the intelligence apparatus who didn’t want to be identified. The official refused to confirm whether a prototype of the proposed platform is being tested.
Another official in the intelligence setup told DNA that several security and bureaucratic hurdles have to be overcome before it can become a working reality. “Information will be multi-layered and have role-based identity management systems for security control,” said a senior official.
A major bureaucratic challenge, he added, would be combining the strengths of the information management systems that currently exist within each individual agency.
Most Indian agencies have sophisticated database management systems for internal use. However, the idea of linking them up came up three years ago when the Americans said they were working on an intelligence wiki.
The US intelligence community has had a wiki for some time and they have also announced a social networking site for spies on the lines of facebook.com.
Officials told DNA that the basic architecture of the information-sharing platform will be on lines similar to what the US and other European countries are working on.
“However, it will be designed keeping our existing information flow structures in mind. Our agencies suddenly cannot begin social networking,” the official told DNA.
Clearly, the world has changed since the twin attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York in 2001. Today, Indian intelligence agencies have begun paying a lot of attention to technological aspects of intelligence gathering.
“Soon after 9/11 when the US intelligence agencies had no option but to share some of their intelligence-gathering techniques over information networks, Indian agencies were able to learn a lot about email sniffing and hacking,” said an official who is in the know of the new developments.
t_mayank@dnaindia.net
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