Airline bomb hoax probe flies into EU data privacy wall

Over the past month, airlines and hotels across India received over 500 calls delivering bomb threats, although each of them turned out to be a hoax.

- Shouvik Das

Modern-day hoax and scam callers use the internet and virtual private networks to hide their location. For hoax calls traced to a foreign country, India will have to request its government to cooperate or follow legal procedures there.

India is in talks with officials from France, Germany, and other European nations to identify the sources of these calls, a second official added. "The general intention from Europe is to help India, but without disrupting the law, which is considerably more stringent there," the second official said.

A senior government official with direct knowledge of the matter said, on the condition of anonymity, that the Centre "is taking up the issue with EU authorities through channels established by the ministry of external affairs".

Cross-border data and internet laws differ vastly between nations, and much depends on personal and bilateral relations. Another key challenge is to collect substantial and watertight evidence that points to a criminal, which is extremely difficult due to technical challenges.