Context :
( 08 July
2020 )
Extract :
Ø The 13-lakh strong Army has directed all its officers and soldiers
to delete their Facebook and Instagram accounts as well as 89 apps from their mobiles by July 15
Ø Citing security considerations and leakage of sensitive data, the Army
said those who do not follow the orders will face strict action. The outlawed
apps include the 59 ones with Chinese links, including TikTok which were banned by the govt recently.
Ø The fresh Army directive, taken to ensure the security of classified information, in the larger
national interest, comes after the Navy also banned the use of Facebook for all its
personnel , while also directing them not to carry smart mobile phones into bases and dockyards
as well as on board warships, in December last
Ø The Army in November last year had also directed its personnel,
to avoid the use of WhatsApp for official work, while asking officers holding “ sensitive appointments “,
to delete their Facebook accounts
======================================================
My Take :
Ø A
soldier’s job is to fight till his last breath. Similarly, a country’s
government must keep coming out with new “ Rules –
Regulations “ to preserve the national security, even as technology
keeps advancing at a rapid rate to render “ privacy of
data “, an impossibility
Why do you say
so ?
In my following blog / email , I wrote :
{ PRIVACY
: A Lost Battle / 15 Jan 2018 }
“ To stave off any
kind of sabotage from forces inimical to the country, the government has asked
the officials of intelligence agencies and defense establishments not
to use share or pool facilities of online cab aggregators such as OLA and Uber.
The precautionary
measure has been taken to keep the
identity of officials and their destination secret so that the
information that may be revealed to co-passengers or driver cannot be used to
target them or specific locations or dignitaries.
According to
sources, the instruction has been issued for officials
staying or working at or inside sensitive locations and defense establishments
across the country.”
WHAT
NEXT ?
Next expect the government to ask its officers not to use
in their homes , internet enabled devices
( including Smart phones ) , embedded with AI
software such as :
# Cortana ( Microsoft )
# Bixie
( Samsung )
# Assistant (
Google )
# Siri
( Apple )
# Alexa
( Amazon )
WHY ?
These devices learn a lot about ,
· WHO you are ,
· WHERE you live /
work ,
· WHAT you like / wear ,
· HOW you dress ,
· WHERE you take your
family for holidays / eat out ,
· WHO is your boss
/ are your friends,
· WHERE you buy
and WHAT ,
· WHERE you studied
and WHAT did you study ,
· WHICH is your bank
/ WHAT is your bank account ,
· WHAT is your
current salary ,
· HOW much tax you
paid last year ,
· WHAT properties
you own and WHERE ( and , at WHAT price
purchased / WHEN )
========================================================
Then 3 months later ( on 13 April 2018 ) , I sent
following e-mail , where I wrote :
{ An
Open Letter }
“ Dear Hon Shri Misraji
[ Chief Justice of
India ] ,
Let me assume that you are using a,
* Smart phone made by SAMSUNG
( a South
Korean manufacturer )
* Its Operating System is ANDROID
( owned by American Google )
* Its service provider is Vodafone
( a UK based Mobile Sevice Provider )
All of these entities have a complete AUDIO LOG of each and every
word that you ever uttered, using your smart phone ! Ever since you
started using it !
And complete log of every web site you ever visited
from that phone
And entire data of your online purchases , made through any
mobile app
This holds good of everyone using a smart phone – including government officials
in charge of our national security !
Although a bit late, George Orwell’s “ 1984 “ has
finally arrived !
=====================================================
Can you “ extrapolate “
this current scenario into some “ Near Future “ ?
Yes , we may need to ban PoS ( Point of Sale ) devices
Why do you say that ?
In today’s
Economic Times , I came across following :
Extract :
Ø The
banking and payments sector may have to continue relying on ‘Made in China’ payment
terminals or point of sale (PoS) machines, in the absence of
cost-effective domestic or international alternatives.
Ø Amid
growing demand for digital payments in India, these swipe
machines are the key hardware to process credit and debit card-based
transactions at malls and retail stores
Ø Currently,
over 95% of POS terminal imports are from China, where the market is
dominated by three global manufacturers — US-based Verifone, France-based
Ingenico and Hong Kong-based Pax Technologies.
Ø All
three companies have manufacturing units in China…………..
Ø Over
75% of global exports of payment terminals are from
China…………
===================================================
Does
use of Chinese PoS terminal cause any “ Data Privacy “ related problems ?
You bet !
At the risk of sounding an “ alarmist “ , I suspect
that millions of these PoS terminals used in our Stores – Malls – Hotels etc.,
are transmitting to their Chinese
manufacturers, following data :
Ø WHO
purchased ………… ( Buyer Identity )
Ø WHAT
item…………………. ( Goods / Service Description )
Ø WHERE
from………………. ( Store location / Store Name )
Ø WHAT
time…………………. ( Hour / Minute )
Ø WHAT
price………………… ( Rupees )
Ø CARD
used ………………….( Issuer / Amount data/ This time / Cumulative / how often )
Ø PURCHASE
HISTORY … ( Everything ever purchased )
Ø WHO
was manufacturer
Ø PRICE
VARIATION across entire country ( for each item sold using PoS )
Ø PRICE
FLUCTUATION over a time period ( for same item )
If , what I suspect is a “ Reality of Life “ ( let electronics
hardware / software experts give their opinions ), then the Chinese know far
more about our CONSUMER
PURCHASES , than what we know ourselves !
This is MARKET SURVEY / MARKET RESEARCH , at its
best !
And without spending any money or hiring any agency !
Now , even if our Experts opine that what I described
is merely “ a figment of my imagination “, I suspect that, if and when, some
Indian companies start manufacturing PoS locally, they would want to capture
the kind of data described above by :
Ø Embedding suitable software
Ø Making
each device Internet connected [
IoT ]
Dear Shri Piyush
Goyalji,
I urge you to announce an INCENTIVE PACKAGE for “ Made in India “ {
Atm-Nirbhar } PoS
With regards,
Hemen Parekh / hcp@RecruitGuru.com / 09
July 2020