World over Lawful Interception Laws are cited as the reason for E-Surveillance and Eavesdropping. However, almost all of these so called Lawful Interception Laws are themselves “Unconstitutional”.Take the example of Indian Cyber Law the Information Technology Act 2000 (IT Act 2000) that carries many draconian E-Surveillance provisions without any “Procedural Safeguards”. These provisions and laws are pressed to further the causes of e-surveillance and eavesdropping.
Research in Motion’s (RIM) Blackberry has already allowed a backdoor entry to Indian Intelligence Agencies for its cloud based Messenger Services. Now it has been reported that Skype and Microsoft have build a backdoor into the VOIP application. It is called Lawful Interception and is part of a new patent which Microsoft filed back in 2009, but is now preparing to unleash itself into our world due to its recent approval.
The US law set by CALEA (Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act) states that all telecommunications operators must enable their hardware and software for surveillance tracking. What is hard to understand is why Microsoft is so willing to open up its software for backdoor exploits. This creates a situation which welcomes exploits and willingly turns your computer into a revolving door for hackers.
While following a Law is not per se wrong but following an “Unconstitutional Law” is definitely wrong. Similarly following a Constitutional Law is the “Duty” of all people but following draconian, Unconstitutional and Inhumane Laws is definitely not required.
Let see who would win the battle between E-Surveillance and Human Rights Protection in Cyberspace. However, with the growing e-surveillance and eavesdropping, Self Defence Measures in Cyberspace would definitely increase in future.
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