Smartphones now store everything from passwords and banking details to personal photos and private conversations, making them a major target for cyber criminals. In this story, we explore simple ways to improve your phone's security, including stronger passwords, passkeys, two-factor authentication, app permission controls, automatic updates and remote device protection. The story looks at how a few basic settings can help reduce the risk of hacking, data theft and online scams.


Tips To Secure Your Phone From Hackers & Data Breaches

China is contemplating the introduction of a national cyberspace ID - the government claims that the ID will be intoduced to enhance the data security and protect the personal information of its citizens.

China introducing 'Cyberspace ID', will protect personal details from online platforms

<p>A network of hospitals across the United States came under a cyberattack on Friday (Aug 5), forcing them to close down emergency rooms and divert ambulances.</p>

<p>Many primary care services were also shut down as the hospital administration was working to determine the extent of the damage.</p>

<p>Currently, it is unknown who or which group is responsible for the cyberattack.</p>

<p>According to local media reports, Los Angeles-based Prospect Medical Holdings, which has hospitals and clinics in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Texas, saw its computer systems hacked by ransomware.</p>

<p>"Prospect Medical Holdings, Inc. recently experienced a data security incident that has disrupted our operations," the company said in a statement.</p>

<p>"Upon learning of this, we took our systems offline to protect them and launched an investigation with the help of third-party cybersecurity specialists. While our investigation continues, we are focused on addressing the pressing needs of our patients as we work diligently to return to normal operations as quickly as possible."</p>

<h2><strong>Ambulances diverted, patients re-directed to other hospitals&nbsp;</strong></h2>

<p>In Connecticut, the emergency departments at Manchester Memorial and Rockville General hospitals were closed for Thursday and patients were re-directed to other nearby medical centres, reports AP news agency.</p>

<p>“We have a national Prospect team working and evaluating the impact of the attack on all of the organisations,” Jillian Menzel, chief operating officer for the Eastern Connecticut Health Network, said in a statement.</p>

<p>The FBI in Connecticut in a statement said that it is working with “law enforcement partners and the victim entities” but could not comment further on an ongoing investigation.</p>

<h2><strong>Computers down till next week&nbsp;</strong></h2>

<p>In Pennsylvania, the nurses’ union at Crozer-Chester Medical System said that the hospital has reverted to a paper system because most of the computers are offline, CBS News reported.</p>

<p>The computers are unlikely to be back online until next week, according to the labour group, citing Prospect Medical.</p>

<p>Among healthcare services that were suspended include elective surgeries, outpatient appointments, blood drives and other services.</p>

<p><strong>Also read |</strong>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/flashback-friday-tracing-the-success-of-coffee-giant-starbucks-622338">Tracing the success of coffee giant Starbucks</a></p>

<p>Though some centres reopened the emergency departments late Thursday, many primary care services were closed on Friday, the Eastern Connecticut Health Network, which runs the facilities, said.</p>

<p><strong>Also read |</strong>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/crocodile-fatally-attacks-soccer-player-in-costa-rican-river-swims-away-with-body-later-622378">Crocodile fatally attacks soccer player in Costa Rican river, swims away with body</a></p>

<p>Patients were being contacted individually, according to the network’s website, reports AP news agency.</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em><br />
<br />
&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>WATCH WION LIVE HERE</strong></p>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/live-tv/embed?autoplay=1&amp;mute=1" width="100%"></iframe></p>


A network of hospitals across the United States came under a cyberattack on Friday (Aug 5), forcing them to close down emergency rooms and divert ambulances. Many primary care services were also shut down as the hospital administration was working to determine the extent of the damage.

A network of hospitals across the United States came under a cyberattack on Friday (Aug 5), forcing them to close down emergency rooms and divert ambulances. Many primary care services were also shut down as the hospital administration was working to determine the extent of the damage. Currently, it is unknown who or which group is responsible for the cyberattack. According to local media reports, Los Angeles-based Prospect Medical Holdings, which has hospitals and clinics in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Texas, saw its computer systems hacked by ransomware. "Prospect Medical Holdings, Inc. recently experienced a data security incident that has disrupted our operations," the company said in a statement. "Upon learning of this, we took our systems offline to protect them and launched an investigation with the help of third-party cybersecurity specialists. While our investigation continues, we are focused on addressing the pressing needs of our patients as we work diligently to return to normal operations as quickly as possible." Ambulances diverted, patients re-directed to other hospitals In Connecticut, the emergency departments at Manchester Memorial and Rockville General hospitals were closed for Thursday and patients were re-directed to other nearby medical centres, reports AP news agency. “We have a national Prospect team working and evaluating the impact of the attack on all of the organisations,” Jillian Menzel, chief operating officer for the Eastern Connecticut Health Network, said in a statement. The FBI in Connecticut in a statement said that it is working with “law enforcement partners and the victim entities” but could not comment further on an ongoing investigation. Computers down till next week In Pennsylvania, the nurses’ union at Crozer-Chester Medical System said that the hospital has reverted to a paper system because most of the computers are offline, CBS News reported. The computers are unlikely to be back online until next week, according to the labour group, citing Prospect Medical. Among healthcare services that were suspended include elective surgeries, outpatient appointments, blood drives and other services. Also read | Tracing the success of coffee giant Starbucks Though some centres reopened the emergency departments late Thursday, many primary care services were closed on Friday, the Eastern Connecticut Health Network, which runs the facilities, said. Also read | Crocodile fatally attacks soccer player in Costa Rican river, swims away with body Patients were being contacted individually, according to the network’s website, reports AP news agency. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE

Hospital networks in several US states under cyberattack, essential services suspended

<p>In November, the Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) released its Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022. The bill had been put up by the country’s Union Minister for Communications, Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, for public consultation till December 17, however, the deadline has recently been extended to January 2, 2023.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, of 2022, is legislation, on one hand, outlines the rights and duties of the citizen and on the other hand, the obligations to use collected data lawfully of the data fiduciary.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>What happened to the previous drafts?</strong></p>

<p>This bill was proposed after nearly four to five years of delays and changes and&nbsp;will reportedly be the Indian government’s fourth&nbsp;attempt to present a bill on data protection. In 2017, the country’s Supreme Court declared that privacy was a fundamental right under the Indian constitution, which led to the apex court asking the government to create a set of data protection rules, in line with this decision.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Subsequently, the government set up a committee of experts headed by retired Supreme Court judge, BN Srikrishna. A year later, the committee along with its report submitted a draft of the Data Protection Bill after which the Ministry of Electronics and IT said that they would use the ideas from the Srikrishna committee and create a fresh draft.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/in-a-first-india-uses-she-and-her-to-refer-to-all-genders-in-a-draft-data-protection-bill-535612">In a first, India uses ‘she’ and ‘her’ to refer to all genders in a draft data protection bill</a></strong></p>

<p>In late 2019, a modified version of that Bill, the Personal Data Protection Bill (PDP Bill), 2019 was introduced by the government. This draft was then referred to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JCP) which was headed by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) minister, Meenakshi Lekhi, at the time.</p>

<p>The JCP after its analysis sought an extension for presenting its report in 2021 which was later granted. Meanwhile, BJP MP, PP Chaudhary had taken over the chairpersonship of the JCP after Lekhi was appointed as the Minister of State for External Affairs and was granted another extension.&nbsp;</p>

<p>However, after the proposed and recommended changes, in August last year, Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar told the parliament, “The government has today withdrawn the Personal Data Protection Bill that was formulated in 2018 and re-written by the JCP in 2021.” He added, that new legislation by the government will be tabled in the parliament “very quickly”.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/new-data-protection-bill-calls-for-consent-privacy-penalties-to-bring-more-accountability-in-digital-economy-155209">New data protection bill calls for consent, privacy, penalties, to bring more accountability in digital economy</a></strong><br />
<br />
Not to mention, the PDP Bill also reportedly faced massive pushback from a range of stakeholders including big tech companies like Facebook and Google for the bill’s provision of data localisation which would prohibit them from exporting undefined personal user data and had to keep a copy of certain sensitive information within the country.</p>

<p>Additionally, the JCP&nbsp;after 78 sittings, over 184 hours, and multiple extensions, the committee proposed 81 amendments (in a 99-section bill) and 12 recommendations. Meanwhile, reports suggest that&nbsp;privacy and civil society activists criticised the delays in the bill since one of the highest consumers and producers of data per capita among the countries across the world did not have a basic framework to protect the privacy of internet users.&nbsp;</p>

<p>They also raised concerns about the provision which allowed the government and its agencies to access data and exempt from most&nbsp;of the provisions of the bill reportedly saying that the measures favoured the government as opposed to safeguarding privacy.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>What about the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022?</strong></p>

<p>Released on November 18, earlier this year, the bill was first proposed in Lok Sabha (lower house) in December 2019. This time around, the proposed legislation has been reduced to only 30 clauses from the over 90 in the previous draft. It is also focused on personal data and also seemingly accounts for the big tech companies’ protests against the previous draft and eased the rules on cross-border data flow.&nbsp;</p>

<p>“The purpose of this Bill is to provide for the processing of digital personal data in a manner that recognises the right of individuals to protect their personal data, the need to process personal data for lawful purposes and for other incidental purposes,” said the draft bill’s explanatory note.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The proposed legislation&nbsp;is up for public consultation, where the government has sought comments from a range of stakeholders the deadline was which was recently extended to January 2, 2023. The move was made, “in response to the requests received from several stakeholders”, said the IT ministry in a statement.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/opinions-blogs/why-tiktok-is-a-threat-to-national-security-if-left-unchecked-300976">Why TikTok is a threat to national security if left unchecked</a></strong><br />
<br />
In its explanatory note, the bill says that there are 760 million active internet users in India the number for which is expected to be 1.2 billion in upcoming years. “That is why laws and rulemaking for the internet have to be around the basic foundational principles and expectations of our citizens of openness, safety, and trust and accountability,” said the government.&nbsp;</p>

<p>According to the note, the bill has been based on seven principles around the data economy. The first and second principles call for organisations to be more transparent with users’ personal data in a way that is lawful and fair to individuals as well as “purpose limitation” which is using the data for which it is collected.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Furthermore, it also calls for “data minimisation” which is collecting those items of personal data only for what is needed. The fourth principle is about the accuracy of personal data and that a “reasonable effort” is made that the individual’s personal data is “accurate and kept up to date”.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>ALSO WATCH |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-plus-indias-achievements-75-506581">Gravitas Plus: India’s achievements @75</a></strong></p>

<p>Subsequently, the fifth one calls for a “storage limitation” so that personal data is not being “stored perpetually by default”. It added, “The storage should be limited to such duration as is necessary for the stated purpose for which personal data was collected.”&nbsp;</p>

<p>The last two principles call for “reasonable safeguards” to prevent data breaches and ensure there is no unauthorised collection or processing of personal data and the person who is in charge of such processing should be&nbsp;held accountable for it.&nbsp;</p>

<p>“These principles have been used as the basis for personal data protection laws in various jurisdictions,” said the explanatory note. It added, “The actual implementation of such laws has allowed the emergence of a more nuanced understanding of personal data protection wherein individual rights, public interest and ease of doing business especially for startups are balanced.”&nbsp;</p>

<p>Furthermore, companies which handle large amounts of data should appoint an independent data auditor to ensure compliance with the provisions, said the Indian government.&nbsp;The proposed bill also says that the government will establish a Data Protection Board which will address user complaints and ensure compliance.&nbsp;</p>

<p>New Delhi will also choose a list of countries to which the companies can transfer personal data and will only allow platforms to send user data to servers in countries on that list. The aforementioned board can also levy fines and penalties in case of failure to adhere to the laws.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/india-court-raises-serious-concerns-on-youth-accessing-banned-video-games-getting-addicted-525191">India: Court raises serious concerns on youth accessing banned video games, getting addicted</a></strong></p>

<p>Additionally, companies could be fined up to $30.6 million for not ensuring reasonable safeguards to prevent a data breach. Companies would also have to stop retaining data if it no longer serves the purpose for which it was collected.&nbsp;</p>

<p>They will also not be allowed to process personal data which might harm children or use target advertising for children. Additionally, before processing the personal data of any child the platform would have to take parental consent. The users will also have the right to correct or erase their personal data.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Concerns raised</strong></p>

<p>Across the range of reports, one of the key concerns raised by experts is that the Indian government and state agencies have several exemptions from the proposed law in the interest of national security. The decision was justified by saying, “national and public interest is at times greater than the interest of an individual, a clear grounds-based description of exemptions has been incorporated in the Bill,” in the explanatory note.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Referring to Section 18 outlines the exemptions of the draft bill and talks about how the government can process personal data without the users’ consent, “in the interests of sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, maintenance of public order or preventing incitement to any cognizable offence relating to any of these”, states the Section 18(2)(a).&nbsp;</p>

<p>Meanwhile, government agencies can also under certain circumstances indefinitely store personal data, said reports. Therefore, the Delhi-based, Internet Freedom Foundation said, “If the law is not applied to government instrumentalities, data collection and processing in the absence of any data protection standards could result in mass surveillance.”&nbsp;</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;</em></p>

<p><strong>WATCH WION LIVE HERE</strong></p>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" loading="”lazy”" src="https://www.wionews.com/live-tv/embed?autoplay=1&amp;mute=1" width="100%"></iframe></p>

<p>You can <strong>now write for wionews.com</strong> and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us <strong><a href="https://www.wionews.com/content-contribution-registration-form">here</a>.</strong></p>


In November, the Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) released its Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022. The bill had been put up by the country’s Union Minister for Communications, Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, for public consultation till December 17, however, the deadline has recently been extended to January 2, 2023.

In November, the Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) released its Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022. The bill had been put up by the country’s Union Minister for Communications, Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, for public consultation till December 17, however, the deadline has recently been extended to January 2, 2023. The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, of 2022, is legislation, on one hand, outlines the rights and duties of the citizen and on the other hand, the obligations to use collected data lawfully of the data fiduciary. What happened to the previous drafts? This bill was proposed after nearly four to five years of delays and changes and will reportedly be the Indian government’s fourth attempt to present a bill on data protection. In 2017, the country’s Supreme Court declared that privacy was a fundamental right under the Indian constitution, which led to the apex court asking the government to create a set of data protection rules, in line with this decision. Subsequently, the government set up a committee of experts headed by retired Supreme Court judge, BN Srikrishna. A year later, the committee along with its report submitted a draft of the Data Protection Bill after which the Ministry of Electronics and IT said that they would use the ideas from the Srikrishna committee and create a fresh draft. ALSO READ | In a first, India uses ‘she’ and ‘her’ to refer to all genders in a draft data protection bill In late 2019, a modified version of that Bill, the Personal Data Protection Bill (PDP Bill), 2019 was introduced by the government. This draft was then referred to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JCP) which was headed by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) minister, Meenakshi Lekhi, at the time. The JCP after its analysis sought an extension for presenting its report in 2021 which was later granted. Meanwhile, BJP MP, PP Chaudhary had taken over the chairpersonship of the JCP after Lekhi was appointed as the Minister of State for External Affairs and was granted another extension. However, after the proposed and recommended changes, in August last year, Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar told the parliament, “The government has today withdrawn the Personal Data Protection Bill that was formulated in 2018 and re-written by the JCP in 2021.” He added, that new legislation by the government will be tabled in the parliament “very quickly”. ALSO READ | New data protection bill calls for consent, privacy, penalties, to bring more accountability in digital economy Not to mention, the PDP Bill also reportedly faced massive pushback from a range of stakeholders including big tech companies like Facebook and Google for the bill’s provision of data localisation which would prohibit them from exporting undefined personal user data and had to keep a copy of certain sensitive information within the country. Additionally, the JCP after 78 sittings, over 184 hours, and multiple extensions, the committee proposed 81 amendments (in a 99-section bill) and 12 recommendations. Meanwhile, reports suggest that privacy and civil society activists criticised the delays in the bill since one of the highest consumers and producers of data per capita among the countries across the world did not have a basic framework to protect the privacy of internet users. They also raised concerns about the provision which allowed the government and its agencies to access data and exempt from most of the provisions of the bill reportedly saying that the measures favoured the government as opposed to safeguarding privacy. What about the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022? Released on November 18, earlier this year, the bill was first proposed in Lok Sabha (lower house) in December 2019. This time around, the proposed legislation has been reduced to only 30 clauses from the over 90 in the previous draft. It is also focused on personal data and also seemingly accounts for the big tech companies’ protests against the previous draft and eased the rules on cross-border data flow. “The purpose of this Bill is to provide for the processing of digital personal data in a manner that recognises the right of individuals to protect their personal data, the need to process personal data for lawful purposes and for other incidental purposes,” said the draft bill’s explanatory note. The proposed legislation is up for public consultation, where the government has sought comments from a range of stakeholders the deadline was which was recently extended to January 2, 2023. The move was made, “in response to the requests received from several stakeholders”, said the IT ministry in a statement. ALSO READ | Why TikTok is a threat to national security if left unchecked In its explanatory note, the bill says that there are 760 million active internet users in India the number for which is expected to be 1.2 billion in upcoming years. “That is why laws and rulemaking for the internet have to be around the basic foundational principles and expectations of our citizens of openness, safety, and trust and accountability,” said the government. According to the note, the bill has been based on seven principles around the data economy. The first and second principles call for organisations to be more transparent with users’ personal data in a way that is lawful and fair to individuals as well as “purpose limitation” which is using the data for which it is collected. Furthermore, it also calls for “data minimisation” which is collecting those items of personal data only for what is needed. The fourth principle is about the accuracy of personal data and that a “reasonable effort” is made that the individual’s personal data is “accurate and kept up to date”. ALSO WATCH | Gravitas Plus: India’s achievements @75 Subsequently, the fifth one calls for a “storage limitation” so that personal data is not being “stored perpetually by default”. It added, “The storage should be limited to such duration as is necessary for the stated purpose for which personal data was collected.” The last two principles call for “reasonable safeguards” to prevent data breaches and ensure there is no unauthorised collection or processing of personal data and the person who is in charge of such processing should be held accountable for it. “These principles have been used as the basis for personal data protection laws in various jurisdictions,” said the explanatory note. It added, “The actual implementation of such laws has allowed the emergence of a more nuanced understanding of personal data protection wherein individual rights, public interest and ease of doing business especially for startups are balanced.” Furthermore, companies which handle large amounts of data should appoint an independent data auditor to ensure compliance with the provisions, said the Indian government. The proposed bill also says that the government will establish a Data Protection Board which will address user complaints and ensure compliance. New Delhi will also choose a list of countries to which the companies can transfer personal data and will only allow platforms to send user data to servers in countries on that list. The aforementioned board can also levy fines and penalties in case of failure to adhere to the laws. ALSO READ | India: Court raises serious concerns on youth accessing banned video games, getting addicted Additionally, companies could be fined up to $30.6 million for not ensuring reasonable safeguards to prevent a data breach. Companies would also have to stop retaining data if it no longer serves the purpose for which it was collected. They will also not be allowed to process personal data which might harm children or use target advertising for children. Additionally, before processing the personal data of any child the platform would have to take parental consent. The users will also have the right to correct or erase their personal data. Concerns raised Across the range of reports, one of the key concerns raised by experts is that the Indian government and state agencies have several exemptions from the proposed law in the interest of national security. The decision was justified by saying, “national and public interest is at times greater than the interest of an individual, a clear grounds-based description of exemptions has been incorporated in the Bill,” in the explanatory note. Referring to Section 18 outlines the exemptions of the draft bill and talks about how the government can process personal data without the users’ consent, “in the interests of sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, maintenance of public order or preventing incitement to any cognizable offence relating to any of these”, states the Section 18(2)(a). Meanwhile, government agencies can also under certain circumstances indefinitely store personal data, said reports. Therefore, the Delhi-based, Internet Freedom Foundation said, “If the law is not applied to government instrumentalities, data collection and processing in the absence of any data protection standards could result in mass surveillance.” (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Explained: What is India’s Digital Data Protection Bill, 2022 all about?

After the Covid pandemic, the dependance on digital healthcare mediums became a necessity. Beyond's principal diplomatic correspondent Siddhant Sibbal spoke to one of the leading Healthcare Tech entrepreneurs of India, Prashant Tandon, the CEO of Tata 1mg about the role of digital apps during the Covid pandemic.

Global Technology Summit: Tata 1mg CEO Prashant Tandon speaks on data security

As data security is at the center of every debate, truecaller is planning to improve its data security mechanism. The company globally employs 350 people and India accounts for majority of that workforce.

WION Business News: Truecaller focuses on growth & expansion; to improve data protection regulations

<p>Beijing has unveiled a global data security push which aims at establishing global standards on data security.</p>

<p>It is from the same country which is the biggest threat to data security, otherwise why else would India ban 224 Chinese apps and US, Australia and the UK close their doors on Huawei.</p>

<p>Washington is also launching a "Clean Network" program which aims at making the market against free Chinese technology. At least 30 countries have reportedly joined the initiative.</p>

<p>Therefore, what China is doing is countering the global boycott of Chinese tech and painting itself as the torch bearer of data security.</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-chinas-global-data-security-push-326109/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

<p>Beijing's data security push has eight points, each more ironical than the other. China is asking companies to not steal data from other countries using technology, China also wants tech companies to stop obtaining user data illegally.</p>

<p>China says its initiative opposes mass surveillance of other countries using technology.</p>

<p>Beijing says the countries signing up to the data security push should avoid asking companies to provide data without permission.</p>

<p>China's national intelligence law requires companies to hand over data when asked, "support, assist and cooperate with the state intelligence work," it says.</p>

<p>The irony-laden initiative was announced by China's foreign minister Wang Yi. The Chinese foreign minister took the opportunity to criticise Washington.</p>

<p>"Countries are using security as a pretext to prey on enterprises of other countries," he said.</p>

<p>Wang went on to declare that "such blatant acts of bullying must be opposed and rejected".<br />
&nbsp;</p>


Beijing has unveiled a global data security push which aims at establishing global standards on data security. It is from the same country which is the biggest threat to data security, otherwise why else would India ban 224 Chinese apps and US, Australia and the UK close their doors on Huawei.

Beijing has unveiled a global data security push which aims at establishing global standards on data security. It is from the same country which is the biggest threat to data security, otherwise why else would India ban 224 Chinese apps and US, Australia and the UK close their doors on Huawei. Washington is also launching a "Clean Network" program which aims at making the market against free Chinese technology. At least 30 countries have reportedly joined the initiative. Therefore, what China is doing is countering the global boycott of Chinese tech and painting itself as the torch bearer of data security. × Beijing's data security push has eight points, each more ironical than the other. China is asking companies to not steal data from other countries using technology, China also wants tech companies to stop obtaining user data illegally. China says its initiative opposes mass surveillance of other countries using technology. Beijing says the countries signing up to the data security push should avoid asking companies to provide data without permission. China's national intelligence law requires companies to hand over data when asked, "support, assist and cooperate with the state intelligence work," it says. The irony-laden initiative was announced by China's foreign minister Wang Yi. The Chinese foreign minister took the opportunity to criticise Washington. "Countries are using security as a pretext to prey on enterprises of other countries," he said. Wang went on to declare that "such blatant acts of bullying must be opposed and rejected".

Now, China spearheads global data security push

10 govt agencies can now intercept your calls

Twitter shares tumble by 7% over hacking concerns

UK parliament accesses documents Facebook tried to keep private

<p>Since India&rsquo;s Information Technology Act came into existence in the year 2000, the concept of data privacy has gained more importance. &nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Information technology Act, 2000(amended in 2008) defined data as a representation of knowledge, facts, concept or instructions which have been processed in a computer system in a formalised way, and are stored internally in the memory of the computer.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>With this definition coming into force, stakeholders seriously started considering more about the privacy of data since digital data, particularly private and financial is vulnerable. The Information Technology Act, 2000 already had provisions prohibiting unauthorised access to digital data. With the 2008 amendment, unauthorised accessing, vandalising or re-fabricating the data for misuse has been made punishable. All these penal provisions actually contribute to the concept of data privacy law.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>It needs to be understood that data can be of several types: publicly available data, private data and financial data. The concept of private data has got a wider scope, covering health data, professional profiles that may be used by workplaces, private pictures, pan card or Adhar card details so on and so forth. Financial data has been considered as a separate type of private data where data generator can be the bank as well as the person who uses the banking facilities, including online money transactions.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>On the other hand, public data may include those which has been made public either by the data generator, including the owner of the data or the data procession unit.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="row">
<div class="article-blockquote">
<div class="col-sm-10 col-sm-offset-1 blockquote-content quoteshare">
<blockquote>
<h5>The Information Technology Act, 2000 (amended in 2008) makes the corporates responsible for the protection of the sensitive personal data, which it is dealing with, handling or processing</h5>
</blockquote>
</div>

<div class="col-sm-1 blockquote-content">
<div class="share-blockquote"><a class="twitter popup" href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The Information Technology Act, 2000 (amended in 2008) makes the corporates responsible for the protection of the sensitive personal data, which it is dealing with, handling or processing" target="_blank"><i class="fa fa-share">&nbsp;</i></a></div>
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqquoteclosemark">&times;</a></div>
</div>
</div>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Information Technology Act, 2000 (amended in 2008) makes the corporates responsible for the protection of the sensitive personal data, which it is dealing with, handling or processing. This means that any organisation, including any corporate farm, bank or Internet service provider may become responsible for protecting the data. It may be punished for a failure in its duty, particularly if it does not show due diligence to protect the data under its purview.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>In my experience as a cyber victim counselor,&nbsp; I have seen many victims whose private data privacy has been breached. There are several ways of breaching the data privacy and some of these have been recognised by the existing laws as well.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>One of the well-known ways of breaching data privacy is unauthorised access to the data. Popularly, this is known as hacking. Notably, the term &lsquo;hacking&rsquo; is not used in the Information Technology Act 2000. Unauthorised access to data may be done by accessing the password and username.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="row">
<div class="article-blockquote">
<div class="col-sm-10 col-sm-offset-1 blockquote-content quoteshare">
<blockquote>
<h5>In most cases of interpersonal cyber victimisation, the victim may unknowingly make personal data available to the perpetrator.</h5>
</blockquote>
</div>

<div class="col-sm-1 blockquote-content">
<div class="share-blockquote"><a class="twitter popup" href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=In most cases of interpersonal cyber victimisation, the victim may unknowingly make personal data available to the perpetrator." target="_blank"><i class="fa fa-share">&nbsp;</i></a></div>
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqquoteclosemark">&times;</a></div>
</div>
</div>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;What concerns me more is the victim&rsquo;s participation in breaching the privacy of the person&#39;s own data. In most cases of interpersonal cyber victimisation, the victim may unknowingly make personal data available to the perpetrator. This enables the perpetrator to carry on several types of online harassments and crimes, including the creation of fake avatar of the victim in the social media and adult entertainment sites to defame the victim, sextortion, blackmailing or spreading defamatory information about the victim to others. In this case,&nbsp; besides the perpetrators, the websites from where the personal data has been leaked may be held responsible, and even prosecuted if they fail to restrict further circulation and misuse of the data.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Victim participation may also be noted in cases of privacy breach of financial data.&nbsp; In this case, the victim, unknowingly, reveals information about banking details like banking password, Pin Numbers, etc. This is also known as phishing. In cases like this, the banks may be held responsible for failure to protect data as the verification from the bank&rsquo;s side failed to detect unauthorised users.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>However, it must also be understood that in cases where the mobile phone device of the victim may also have been unauthorisedly accessed as a part of victimisation, the banks may argue no responsibility as they may not be aware of the &lsquo;phone hacking&rsquo;.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="row">
<div class="article-blockquote">
<div class="col-sm-10 col-sm-offset-1 blockquote-content quoteshare">
<blockquote>
<h5>It is unfortunate to note that India still does not have any law for the protection of the privacy of the data</h5>
</blockquote>
</div>

<div class="col-sm-1 blockquote-content">
<div class="share-blockquote"><a class="twitter popup" href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=It is unfortunate to note that India still does not have any law for the protection of the privacy of the data" target="_blank"><i class="fa fa-share">&nbsp;</i></a></div>
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqquoteclosemark">&times;</a></div>
</div>
</div>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>It is unfortunate to note that India still does not have any law for the protection of the privacy of the data, including digital even though Data Privacy Bill was drafted way back in 2011. While the existing laws, including the Indian Penal Code (especially after 2013 Criminal Law amendment) have been supporting the victims, lacunas do exist in legal procedures and legal understanding in this regard.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Further, a majority of the victims are not even aware of the privacy settings that are offered by websites. By privacy settings,&nbsp; I mean the reporting mechanism to inform of privacy breaching. When a victim identifies a breach of privacy of data, he/she must report the content that contains the private data to the website concerned.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Further, the victims must also remain cautious of any kind of suspicious activities in the form of suspicious emails or bank verification messages. Any such activity must be reported to the body corporate and in more serious cases, to the police.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Also, the victim should not adopt an irrational coping mechanism to negotiate with the breach of data privacy; it is never advisable to contact a hacker to recover the data or approach the perpetrator.&nbsp; Often it leads to an escalation of the problem. It is, therefore, best to report the matter to the police with all evidence in hand. Above all, data privacy may be prevented if the data owner remains cautious and aware. We need to remember that we live in a digital era and, hence, we have to be extra careful about our digital data.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


The amended Information Technology Act (2008) has made unauthorised accessing, vandalising or re-fabricating of data a punishable offense

Since India’s Information Technology Act came into existence in the year 2000, the concept of data privacy has gained more importance. The Information technology Act, 2000(amended in 2008) defined data as a representation of knowledge, facts, concept or instructions which have been processed in a computer system in a formalised way, and are stored internally in the memory of the computer. With this definition coming into force, stakeholders seriously started considering more about the privacy of data since digital data, particularly private and financial is vulnerable. The Information Technology Act, 2000 already had provisions prohibiting unauthorised access to digital data. With the 2008 amendment, unauthorised accessing, vandalising or re-fabricating the data for misuse has been made punishable. All these penal provisions actually contribute to the concept of data privacy law. It needs to be understood that data can be of several types: publicly available data, private data and financial data. The concept of private data has got a wider scope, covering health data, professional profiles that may be used by workplaces, private pictures, pan card or Adhar card details so on and so forth. Financial data has been considered as a separate type of private data where data generator can be the bank as well as the person who uses the banking facilities, including online money transactions. On the other hand, public data may include those which has been made public either by the data generator, including the owner of the data or the data procession unit. The Information Technology Act, 2000 (amended in 2008) makes the corporates responsible for the protection of the sensitive personal data, which it is dealing with, handling or processing × The Information Technology Act, 2000 (amended in 2008) makes the corporates responsible for the protection of the sensitive personal data, which it is dealing with, handling or processing. This means that any organisation, including any corporate farm, bank or Internet service provider may become responsible for protecting the data. It may be punished for a failure in its duty, particularly if it does not show due diligence to protect the data under its purview. In my experience as a cyber victim counselor, I have seen many victims whose private data privacy has been breached. There are several ways of breaching the data privacy and some of these have been recognised by the existing laws as well. One of the well-known ways of breaching data privacy is unauthorised access to the data. Popularly, this is known as hacking. Notably, the term ‘hacking’ is not used in the Information Technology Act 2000. Unauthorised access to data may be done by accessing the password and username. In most cases of interpersonal cyber victimisation, the victim may unknowingly make personal data available to the perpetrator. × What concerns me more is the victim’s participation in breaching the privacy of the person's own data. In most cases of interpersonal cyber victimisation, the victim may unknowingly make personal data available to the perpetrator. This enables the perpetrator to carry on several types of online harassments and crimes, including the creation of fake avatar of the victim in the social media and adult entertainment sites to defame the victim, sextortion, blackmailing or spreading defamatory information about the victim to others. In this case, besides the perpetrators, the websites from where the personal data has been leaked may be held responsible, and even prosecuted if they fail to restrict further circulation and misuse of the data. Victim participation may also be noted in cases of privacy breach of financial data. In this case, the victim, unknowingly, reveals information about banking details like banking password, Pin Numbers, etc. This is also known as phishing. In cases like this, the banks may be held responsible for failure to protect data as the verification from the bank’s side failed to detect unauthorised users. However, it must also be understood that in cases where the mobile phone device of the victim may also have been unauthorisedly accessed as a part of victimisation, the banks may argue no responsibility as they may not be aware of the ‘phone hacking’. It is unfortunate to note that India still does not have any law for the protection of the privacy of the data × It is unfortunate to note that India still does not have any law for the protection of the privacy of the data, including digital even though Data Privacy Bill was drafted way back in 2011. While the existing laws, including the Indian Penal Code (especially after 2013 Criminal Law amendment) have been supporting the victims, lacunas do exist in legal procedures and legal understanding in this regard. Further, a majority of the victims are not even aware of the privacy settings that are offered by websites. By privacy settings, I mean the reporting mechanism to inform of privacy breaching. When a victim identifies a breach of privacy of data, he/she must report the content that contains the private data to the website concerned. Further, the victims must also remain cautious of any kind of suspicious activities in the form of suspicious emails or bank verification messages. Any such activity must be reported to the body corporate and in more serious cases, to the police. Also, the victim should not adopt an irrational coping mechanism to negotiate with the breach of data privacy; it is never advisable to contact a hacker to recover the data or approach the perpetrator. Often it leads to an escalation of the problem. It is, therefore, best to report the matter to the police with all evidence in hand. Above all, data privacy may be prevented if the data owner remains cautious and aware. We need to remember that we live in a digital era and, hence, we have to be extra careful about our digital data.

Data privacy in modern day context

data-security

Data Security, News on Data Security, stories on Data Security, articles on Data Security, Data Security stories at Wion, Data Security news, Data Security latest news