India to sign the Budapest Convention on cyber crime
NEW DELHI: India is already working closely with many countries which are part of the convention. Staying isolated... would have been pointless especially at a time when we are becoming a global power. Cyber crime has a geographical connotation and signing the treaty will only mean an enhancement of our capabilities.
SUBIMAL BHATTACHARJEE, Cyber policy adviser
India is likely to join a league of nations by signing an international treaty that will help the country tackle growing cyber terrorism, child pornography, hate crimes and violations of network security, senior home ministry officials said.
The Budapest Convention on Cybercrime, that came into force in 2004, is a first-of-its-kind international treaty established to address cyber crime across the globe through increased cooperation between countries, developing technologies and harmonising national laws.
Signatories of the treaty include major powers such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Israel. The home ministry was in favour of India joining the convention after addressing the initial reservations, a senior ministry official said.
The proposal had been sent to Union home minister Rajnath Singh who is likely to give his assent this month. From there on, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) will take forward India’s bid to join the treaty.
The convention was drawn up by the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France, and has 56 signatories that include countries that are members of the Council of Europe and non-member observer states.
Among the member states of the Council of Europe are United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russian Federation and Turkey. The non-members include United States, Israel, Japan and Canada. India will join as a nonmember.
The proposal was being examined by Hansraj Ahir, the minister of state for home affairs, home secretary Rajib Gauba and the the newly established Cyber and Information Security Division of the MHA. The suggestion to sign the convention was made during a review meeting by Rajnath Singh last month following which reservations over signing of the convention were addressed.
Subimal Bhattacharjee, a cyber policy adviser and member of the Research Advisory Network of Global Commission on Internet Governance, said signing the treaty will help India take the role of a world leader as all the super power counties had either signed or ratified the convention.
“India is already working closely with many countries which are part of the convention. Staying isolated by not joining the organisation would have been pointless especially at a time when we are becoming a global power. Cyber crime has a geographical connotation and signing the treaty will only mean an enhancement of our capabilities to combat cyber crime,” he said.
Earlier, the government had argued that since India did not play any role in drafting of the treaty, becoming a signatory without appropriate provisions in domestic law would have made it hard to coordinate.
The signing was also opposed by the Intelligence Bureau on the grounds that sharing data with foreign law enforcement agencies infringes on national sovereignty. “Both the issues were addressed. Last year, the Centre established the cyber crime division whose mandate and job description is such that it will not create any issues while dealing with cyber crime both in India and abroad...” an official added.