A BALANCING ACT
India Legal|May 23, 2022
CERT-In's directions to data centres, VPN service providers and intermediaries for information about customers infringe on privacy. The lack of a Data Protection Authority tilts the power in favour of CERT-In
Ashit Kumar Srivastava and Rishabh Shukla
A BALANCING ACT

RECENTLY, Computer Emergency Response Team-India (CERT-In) came up with new directions for data centres, virtual private network (VPN) service providers, cloud service providers and intermediaries to create log and provide information about customers. This includes their email address, IP address, phone numbers and the purpose for hiring VPN services. This information has to be held for five years after their cancellation or withdrawal of membership or subscription.

All the entities also need to report any cyber security incident to CERT-In within six hours of it coming to their knowledge or being informed of it. Crypto exchange and wallet service providers are required to maintain KYC details of their users. Additionally, information about financial transactions about the user needs to be stored for five years. It should have elements that can lead to restructuring of the transaction and the relevant party to the transactions can be traced, as well as their IP address located.

These directions come in wake of CERT-In finding glaring gaps in the cyber security mechanism. The fact that VPN service providers have been asked to share information about their customers comes as a revelation, knowing that the USP of these services lies in their anonymity. However, if the anonymity features come under threat, then it can lead to a trust deficit.

This story is from the May 23, 2022 edition of India Legal.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the May 23, 2022 edition of India Legal.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM INDIA LEGALView All
PIL, Difficult To Swallow?
India Legal

PIL, Difficult To Swallow?

In a recent ruling, the Bombay High Court lamented the increasing number of frivolous public interest litigations being filed in courts and echoed the sentiments of the Supreme Court that such litigations are the bane of the judicial system. Is there any way to restrict their misuse?

time-read
6 mins  |
February 13, 2023
Till Infertility Do Us Part...
India Legal

Till Infertility Do Us Part...

The Calcutta High Court slammed a husband for initiating divorce proceedings due to his wife's infertility and asked him to be a pillar of support for her. Courts have often taken an empathetic view in such matters

time-read
4 mins  |
February 13, 2023
IS THAT LEGAL?
India Legal

IS THAT LEGAL?

Ignorance of law is no excuse. Here are answers to frequently asked queries regarding matters that affect us on a day-to-day basis

time-read
3 mins  |
February 13, 2023
The Big Lie
India Legal

The Big Lie

In America, The Big Lie is an idiom used by Donald Trump's opponents and the media to describe his constant gripe about election fraud. Now, it seems more suited to another Republican, Congressman George Santos (right), who has been facing growing calls to resign after he admitted fabricating parts of his resume and biography since his election in New York last year.

time-read
1 min  |
February 13, 2023
Flying into the Sunset
India Legal

Flying into the Sunset

Over 50 years since the first and original jumbo jet, the Boeing 747, took to the skies and revolutionized air travel, the last of the legendary aircraft (right) was delivered to a freight charter company, bringing down the curtain on one of aviation's most successful products.

time-read
1 min  |
February 13, 2023
Star Crossed
India Legal

Star Crossed

Actor and producer Alec Baldwin is a Hollywood legend, having starred in a range of movies, award winning TV sitcoms, and theatre. He was most recently seen in Mission Impossible Fallout, which is an apt description of his current situation.

time-read
1 min  |
February 13, 2023
Walkouts in the UK
India Legal

Walkouts in the UK

An estimated half a million workers have gone on strike, shutting down thousands of schools, public transport and border disruption. It is the biggest day of industrial action for more than a decade.

time-read
1 min  |
February 13, 2023
Myanmar's Misery
India Legal

Myanmar's Misery

Two years after the military coup ousted the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi, the brutal crackdown by the junta on so-called \"insurgents\" and civilian protesters has reached a new level with the use of air strikes, a new and deadly tactic in the ongoing civil war.

time-read
1 min  |
February 13, 2023
AMERICA'S ANGST
India Legal

AMERICA'S ANGST

From messy, divisive politics to a series of mass shootings, and now black officers brutally beating another black man to death as seen in bodycam videos, America's domestic convulsions are cause for serious introspection

time-read
4 mins  |
February 13, 2023
JUSTICE LEAGUE
India Legal

JUSTICE LEAGUE

There are few judicial appointment procedures in the world that are completely bereft of the overarching presence of either the executive or the legislature, or both. In the end, the judge is left with all the powers vested in him/her by the constitution to uphold the rule of law, within an atmosphere of external influences

time-read
9 mins  |
February 13, 2023