“The Hindu”, in partnership with an international media consortium led by “WikiLeaks”, investigates communications intelligence technologies — and the risk their unregulated use is posing to all our lives
“It was even conceivable,” wrote George Orwell in his great work 1984, “that they watched everybody all the time.”
It is: in its December 2 issue, The Hindu, in partnership with an international consortium of newspapers, broadcast organisations, and privacy bodies brought together by WikiLeaks, will show that the dystopia Orwell imagined isn’t any longer a fantasy. The documents made available by the consortium provide unprecedented detail on the technologies now available to states, which allow for the large-scale interception of electronic communications: phone calls, whether mobile, landline, or satellite-based; email; web pages; text messages; in essence, almost anything.
Ever since the tragic 26/11 attacks, India has made massive investments in communications intelligence equipment. Its intelligence and police services now listen in to phone, satellite, and computer communications systems of terrorists and hostile intelligence services like the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Directorate: Lashkar-e-Taiba commanders operating deep inside Pakistan must now fear their most secret communications are being listened in to. New technology acquisitions allow India to monitor hostile forces not only inside the country but across the region. At least two Indian companies offer electronics that can scan through massive amounts of electronic communications for specific voices or words, and automatically mine data for information.
Technologies like these helped trace the alleged terrorists arrested by the Delhi Police earlier this month on charges of having executed a series of bombings in 2010; in several cases, terrorist attacks have been pre-empted in this way.
But the very same technology also means someone is watching you. Every email you send out, every phone call you make, every internet page you visit, every text message you send out, every online purchase you make; every bank transaction you engage in — each of these potentially ends up in the records.
In India, unlike in some other democracies using these technologies, there is no intelligence regulatory system to safeguard citizens’ rights and privacies. A private members bill intended to regulate the intelligence services has been languishing in the Rajya Sabha. It takes little to see that the potential for abuse is enormous — indeed the complete apathy of the political class suggests at least some in power welcome such abuse.
The Hindu’s investigation will show that these fears are real. In several States, police forces and intelligence services using systems that scan through mobile phone and email traffic searching for threats have picked up private communications, in some cases involving politicians. In one case, a senior politician was even subjected to a blackmail bid. Elsewhere in the world, these technologies have become instruments central to sustaining tyrannies.
India is set to make ever-larger investments in these technologies, including its first dedicated spy satellite, which has been tentatively named CCISat. Indian military officials estimate that in the coming decade the country will spend Rs. 22,500 crore.
Big Brother, we know, was watching George Orwell: in 1942, he was spied on for suspicion of holding pro-communist views. Back then, British intelligence needed officers to monitor his movements and open his mail. Now all it would take is a click.
In 1984, Orwell wrote, “you have to live — did live, from habit that became instinct — in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinised.”
There is no disputing that lawfully and properly deployed, communications intelligence technologies play a useful role in protecting our freedoms. In the absence of robust oversight by the political system and citizens, though, they will almost certainly destroy them.
This is the third major data-trove-based project in which The Hindu is partnering with WikiLeaks. The first was the India Cables project (www.thehindu.com/news/the-india-cables): starting March 15, 2011, the newspaper offered readers a broad spectrum of articles and reports based on a selection of 5,100 cables, aggregating six million words, made available to it by WikiLeaks. These stories, often front-paged, and the relevant cables were published on 21 consecutive days and more followed later. In May 2011, The Hindu (www.thehindu.com/system/topicRoot/The_Pakistan_Cables) partnered with Dawn of Pakistan and NDTV 24x7 (www.ndtv.com) in doing a large number of articles and reports based on the Pakistan Cables, also made available by WikiLeaks. This time it will be a different kind of partnership: several media and privacy organisations brought together by WikiLeaks to work on a massive trove of data, share their research and insights, but do their own stories independently.
We believe these stories and the documents they are based on have been, and will be, of great relevance, interest, and value to lay readers as well as scholars and specialists.
The image accompanying the article has been changed.
Comments:
The map shown in the website misrepresents India. J&K seems to be left out in the Indian political boundary. "The Hindu" being a partner in this Wikileaks effort should immediately arrange for its correction. Till that time, atleast the misrepresented map should be removed from the Hindu's website.
Editor,
Cannot fathom an historic newspaper partnering with firm(WikiLeaks)
that did not obey many(more than dozen) countries legal laws & exposed
classified documents which are harmful to the country & general public
& governments in general.
Did you ever think about consequences this would have to your paper?
And what reader would think of you if you partner with a WikiLeaks
which all major banks in the world and credit processors banned from
transferring funds to WikiLeaks for the kind of activity they are
into.
What is ironic is WikiLeaks used clandestine methods to collect this
data which they abhor all those countries who use similar methods
which were approved by respective countries legislatures. Isn't this
questionable practice used by WikiLeaks which it decries if other
legal countries do this?
And The Hindu partnering, tomorrow The Hindu should be able to partner
with all such organization who does collect data illegally as
precedent was set now.
Call meeting and discuss!
I am eagerly waiting for this series now. Seems to b more interesting than India cables! :)
Thank you so much for enlightening us.
World has moved ahead but The Hindu is literally hung up in its pseudo colonial predilection.
Imitating western media houses especially the likes of NYT should be in spirit and not just in letter. Hope The Hindu would infuse new thought leadership in to its otherwise stale style and content.
P.S: All this outrage is because of long association with The Hindu. One wouldn’t be interested in an association which he is not proud of.
Thank You
Phaniendra
I want to strongly protest against the map being shown! It doesnt include our northernmost state!
Wonder how you can carry the news on the US State Department displaying a map incorrectly and yet not doing the same yourself!
Request you to take it up ASAP.
Indian map on this site is incorrect. The Hindu should protest against this.
"Lashkar-e-Taiba commanders operating deep inside Pakistan must now fear their most secret communications are being listened in to."
It is something which should happen. If this happens, I will be the happiest person in the world.
"A private members bill intended to regulate the intelligence services has been languishing in the Rajya Sabha. It takes little to see that the potential for abuse is enormous"
I do not see how a recipe for sambhar by my mum is going to be abused. If reading my mails and intercepting my conversation means preventing 26/11, then so be it.
The place where this can be misused is where companies share legal private information like pricing strategies and other stuff. If a competitor gets hold of the government to monitor the mails, then it becomes troublesome. We need to monitor this scenario.
Dear Editor,
As a long-time reader and suppporter of Hindu, I am very pained that you are continuing your collaborations with Wikileaks, which is nothing short of an extortion agency. I agree that money is not their prime motivation (though they go get a lot of revenue from their notoriety), however, social upheaval in a wrong way is.
They have been totally blacklisted by freedom loving countries like the U.S. and in Europe, primarily because of their goal, of not finding out real problem issues, but just trying to get some fame through the publication of some details, obtained through nefarious means.
I would really urge you, for the sake of the readers and the dignity of journalism in India and abroad, to cease supporting Wikileaks or aligning with them in any way. You are a force by yourself in real investigative journalism, and do not really required any help, especially from unsavoury characters like the chief of Wikileaks.
Best wishes
Map of India is incorrect in image in this article. It misses J&K altogether.
There is nothing wrong in spying, National security comes first..
The globe shown above has Africa in the center and not India. People who are complaining should educate themselves before blaming the Hindu or "covering" themselves in the Indian flag!
I thank The Hindu for this article and am looking forward to reading more. It is clear that India lacks adequate laws governing domestic spying. Intelligence gathering is fine and is needed but the citizens of India have the right to understand the rules of the game.
Instead of blaming the messengers like The Hindu, Wikileaks or its founder, we should focus the facts and have an open discussion on what type of country we want to live in and make sure that our politicians enact laws that reflect our values.
I am also a long time The Hindu Reader.In fact, The Hindu is my family member for long time.I wholeheartedly welcome The Hindu'S DARING ATTEMPT and partnering with Wikileaks, but for which we the common men, do not know in what kind of world we are living.True.The way in which Wikileaks is collecting information about big brother and classified docs etc.,is debatable ;still that big brother also does not honour any other country's sovereignty at all, read Pakistan and the killing of Pakistan and unauthorised entry of CIA agents there without Proper docs..Diamond cuts diamonds. In fact, The Hindu is what Lord Krishna to Arjun.Good job by The Hindu..I welcome it.
Editor, Please be careful, WikiLeaks has been banned by all major democratic
countries and banking operations all over the world.
Now they are trying to get their illegal acts legitimized by getting
endorsements and partnership's with key media outlets in select
countries.
It is highly unfortunate Hindu fell in their trap.
Isn't it deplorable that WikiLeaks talking about spying in this
project whereas they are involved in exactly similar if not more
clandestine spying operations to get legal classified data from many
countries all over the world?
Comon Hindu grow up and do due diligence before partnering with such
controversial banned organizations...
Have an internal review done on who approved this partnership and who
pushed for this, and you would know that person worldview and he is
imposing it all readers.
This is does not meet basic test of journalism at all.
Hope this issue would address promptly and action taken internally.
Thanks
I think this so called boycott of wikileaks is totally uncalled for!!...... and to question
a newpaper to moderate its content and exercise discretion while choosing its
sources is totally undemocratic......
If one using wrong method for the benefit of whole community then i admire their contribution for the sake of humanity and continue to support them. Really Hindu is now in right track.
Let's be clear, electronic warfare may be perfectly acceptable to wage upon our Republics' 'enemies' but the trouble is how to define the enemy when he is not a nation state. It is fanciful to imagine the IB sitting in Delhi intercepting communications of the opposition parties (accidently of course!) & turning off the recording devices to meet a non existent standard of democratic accountability. 'National Interest' usually entails an interpretation of stability so rigid, basic freedoms such our right to protest are often seen as a threat to our deep state. Perhaps our spooks are trained to be paranoid (for all of us), however, constant vigilance is the price of our freedoms in this democracy. Who will watch the watchers? Lastly, the technology for signal interception is widely available to non state actors. In other words, by forcing citizens to communicate in an insecure fashion not only is the State ensuring their ability to listen in but also ensuring other entities can do so too.
It seems law has to keep pace with the technological advancements in the area of communication and surveillance intelligence in order to protect peoples right to privacy and their personal information in the form of data being collected by the likes of government and funded organizations, public or private ones for various purposes from being abused by unscrupulous powers. Well laid out distinctions between 'directed', 'intrusive' and 'covert' surveillance should be in place so as to ensure that those operations are backed by legal authorizations strengthened by responsible legislations. In order to preserve the welfare of the nation,its interests and integrity and also to safeguard the fundamental rights of its citizens the regulatory and enforcement laws regarding surveillance and communication tech. should be up to date and on par with the advancements in that field lest they become obsolete and redundant.
I agree with the article and appreciate The Hindu for being part of this. Nevertheless the map is disturbing and needs to be corrected immediately. Please change the map or remove it from this website.