A policeman’s endeavour to keep Net safe: Mouse trails  

          New Delhi:  Tech talk is always intimidating.  That’s why when Sanjay Pandey, former senior police officer, having over 19 years of experience, said he wanted to set up a site on Internet security encryption, everyone froze.  He holds a masters degree in public administration from Harvard University, and is a bachelor in technology (computer science from IIT Kanpur, India).  Sanjay says he set up his website to mainly address the interests of financial and government institutions.  Based in Delhi, www.i-secure-sys.comor ISec is promoted by professional managers who have information security experience working for Fortune 500 companies around the world.   ISec helps with everyday management of security infrastructure that includes installation and maintenance of firewalls, intrusion detection systems and monitoring of services installation.   Sanjay confirms, “The aim is to try and make security understandable and usable for users, since professional help is otherwise very expensive.”  The ex-officer continues to be in the profession of protecting people. 

The Asian Age – July 2, 2003.

 Software helps Bengal police catch militants  

            Kolkata – July 2, 2003 – The North Bengal police has embarked on a unique plan to keep tabs on KLO, Ulfa And NDFB militants who are on the run.  The Superintendent of Police, Jalpaiguri, S.N. Gupta, said, “We are using a special computer software which has so far been used only by the state CID.  To spot the militants with accuracy, we are updating their photographs.”  A senior IPS officer said, “We have collected the voter identity cards of the KLO militants who had recently joined the ranks and even collected photographs of the militants  from the albums of their friends.  The Assam police has helped us by supplying photographs of the Ulfa and NDFB ultras.”  

The Asian Age – July 3, 2003.

 MCC cadres burn cop alive, kill two others  

          Patna – July 3, 2003 – In a daring attack, the outlawed Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) men burnt one Assistant Sub Inspector alive, killed two policemen of Paraiya police station in Bihar’s Gaya district on Wednesday night.  Three policemen were also injured.    

Hindustan Times – July 4, 2003

 Tie-up with Nepal police to help tackle crime  

            New Delhi – July 13 – The Nepal counterparts of Delhi Police have agreed to share intelligence on crime and criminals with Delhi Police and also with the Central Bureau Bureau of Investigation, by using Interpol and diplomatic channels.  The decision had been taken at Interpol meet at Kathmandu on July 3-4, 2003.  It has been agreed upon that the system of verification of antecedents of persons seeking jobs in India required to be “devised as a preventive measure for combating movement of criminals and anti-social elements.”   The Delhi Police have identified more than 20 big or small groups operating in Nepal who help Delhi gangsters in disposing of stolen vehicles.  ”We can now think of tracing culprits even if they happened to cross the border.  Earlier it was not so,” said an officer.   

The Hindu – July 14, 2003

 A-I boarding cards now have photos  

            New Delhi – A-I has decided to print photographs of its domestic sector passengers on their individual boarding cards.  Mini cameras have been fixed on computers at the check-in counters to take pictures, which are then printed at the back of boarding cards.  ”This exercise is currently limited only to the passengers travelling on the domestic sector,” an airline spokesman said.  “In the case of Mumbai-Delhi-London flight for instance, a passenger travelling to London will be issued a normal boarding card, whereas, a passenger traveling just on the Mumbai-Delhi route will be issued a photographed card.  The crew will keep a part of the card with the seat and the passenger’s boarding number and get the passenger deboarded at Delhi,” the spokesman added.  Officials said the step was initiated after the episode where four Afghani Sikhs managed to reach London on an Air-India flight without ticket or travel documents. 

The Times of India – July 14, 2003

 New snoopers in office keep an eye on you  

            New York – Even one offensive email message circulated around the office by a single employee can pose a liability risk for a company.  But a wave of laws including the Federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and the anti-corruption and corporate governance Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 have imposed new record-keeping and investigative burdens on companies.  Not complying with some laws can result in the personal liability of officers and directors.  As a result, employers have stepped up their surveillance of employees, often using stealth techniques to peer deep into their computer use.  14 million American workers with access to computer, were being monitored in 2001, according to the Privacy Foundation, a Denver research group, with added pressure on executives to oversee their employees’ electronic activities.  Specialists in a field called human- resource forensics are using the latest technology to record every thing from the Websites employees visit in the files. Though some forms of surveillance are perfectly proper, they say that using technology to spy on employees can damage workplace morale and, if taken to extremes, test the boundaries of what is ethical or legal.  The experts urge companies to think hard before turning their workplaces into areas where no one feels trusted. 

The Hindu – July 16, 2003
 

Corporate espionage: India Inc means business 

          New Delhi:  An increasing number of companies are hiring private detectives to keep tabs on both employees and business partners.  Hit by financial losses, the management of a perfume company in Gurgaon hired a private detective company for help.  Tapping of cellphones led to the discovery that a senior product manager was leading out composition details.  He was later nailed by booking a fake order by the detective agency.   The MD of a finance MNC accepted a bouquet from his rivals, in which microphone had been hidden in the flowers.   It recorded all the proceedings of the in-door meeting which was later duly retrieved by his rivals.  An FMCG Company, which incurred a loss for no tangible reason, put a detective agency on the job. Investigation revealed that a senior member of the management had falsified the records and misappropriated Rs.10 crores.  A survey conducted by KPMG reveals that losses accruing to corporate espionage in the consumer-products segment is a high 13%.  “We suffered huge losses after entering into a partnership with a sick company.  Now I always make it a point to hire a detective agency and verify details,” says Sameer Duggal, the MD of a software data-providing company.  A study by Ernst & Young reveals that 82% of the worst frauds are committed by the enemy within – employees acting alone or in collusion with a third party. 

The Times of India – July 16, 2003.

 VK residents to play police 

            New Delhi – The residents of Vasant Kung, a south western residential area of Delhi, will now be actively involved in monitoring local security.  Delhi Police have given a questionnaire to members of the 32 Resident Welfare Associations in the colony housing about 12,000 flats, which seeks specific information pertaining to security of each block in Vasant Kunj.  The local police will now be meeting one Resident Welfare Association daily to discuss issues related to that particular block.  Through the questionnaire, the police is collecting information on the number of gates in each block, the security guards manning them, condition of the boundary walls, the antecedents  of the security guards and the agency providing them, etc. 

The Times of India – July 18, 2003.

 Uncle Sam’s eagle eye on visitors 

          Houston – From January1, 2004, a new system – the United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US VISIT) – will identify and track immigrants and non-immigrants who come to work, visit or live in the country.  All the visitors entering the US with a valid visa through airports and sea ports will be finger—printed,  photographed and customs officials will scan their travel documents.  US VISIT combines elements of the Student and Exchange Visiting Information  System (SEVIS) programme, designed to let universities officials electronically update the government on changes in the status of their international students and National Security Entry Exit Registration System (NSEERS) programme.  The Home Department notes that out of the 19 hijackers, who took part in 9/11 attacks, six used false names on their Saudi Arabian passports, three had overstayed their visas, two entered the US as students yet never reported to their schools, and two were on the FBI’s wanted terrorists’ list. 

The Times of India – July 22, 2003.

 Big brother’s watching cops  

            New Delhi – Delhi Police recently purchased 42 close circuit televisions (CCTV) to enable senior officers to keep a tab on their juniors’ behaviour.   A senior police officer said: “After these cameras started operating, the functioning of police stations has improved.  Subordinates are more careful as they are aware that a senior officer is monitoring them.”   Additional commissioner of police(general administration), M.A. Sayed said: ”The CCTVs were successful in transforming the attitude of policemen.”  Each CCTV unit consists of four cameras and a monitor.  “The camera which monitors the lock-ups has been very useful.  It has ensured that the policeman who guards the lock-ups is attentive and does not misuse his power,” a deputy commissioner of police said. 

The Times of India – July 25, 2003

 Bhutan plans military strikes on N-E militants  

New Delhi – July 28, 2003 – Bhutan is gearing up for a military strike to drive the estimated 2,730 militants of the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) and the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) out of its territory.  The National Assembly of Bhutan has empowered the government to make a “last attempt at peaceful negotiations”.  Though New Delhi will not be officially involved, it is learnt that the two governments would maintain “high level contact” to ensure that the peace option works.  Among the steps that could be considered is “safe passage” by the Indian Army and police units guarding the international border to the militants who wish to leave Bhutan without a fight, which has been proposed by the head of Samtze district, where the ULFA has a strong presence.  According to Bhutan’s home minister, the ULFA has not honoured its commitment of leaving the country by December 31, 2001.  The NDFB in their talks with the Bhutanese government have not given any firm commitment about leaving. 

Hindustan Times – July 29, 200

 Prepared for Disaster 

            What are the greatest threats to a company’s earnings?  More than 70 percent of risk managers cite property-related hazards, from fire and natural disasters to strikes and cyber crime, while 52 percent of financial executives have a different set of concerns, such as, improper management and employee practices and pricing volatility.  That’s according to the “2003 Protecting Value Study” conducted by FM Global, Financial Executives Research Foundation, and the National Association of Corporate Treasurers, for which nearly 400 chief financial officers, treasurers, and risk managers at the world’s largest corporations were surveyed.  It was found that companies are better prepared now for contingency planning than they were a year earlier.  

Security Management – July 2003