The Reserve Bank of India mandated the deletion of card-on-file data by merchants and PA/PGs. Industry bodies and civil-society organisations gave inputs seeking an extension of this deadline in December last year, including The Dialogue and Deepstrat which published a paper outlining the challenges associated with rushed compliance. The RBI, taking cognisance, gave a six-month […]
Tackling Retail Financial Cyber Crimes in India is an ethnographic study on problems faced by law enforcement agencies (LEAs) in investigation and prosecution of financial cyber crimes in India. The study draws on complaints filed with Haryana’s unique cyber crimes police station to understand the impact of online frauds on retail digital payments. It is […]
Professor Alan Westin, American professor of law, recognised as the father of modern data privacy law, laid down the basic principles of privacy law decades ago in his books, ‘Privacy and Freedom’ and ‘Databanks in a Free Society’. Westin defined privacy as the “claim of individuals, groups or institutions to determine for themselves when, how […]
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Encryption in today’s increasingly interconnected world is perhaps the only technology that provides us a sense of safety online. It is the most important enabler of free speech and indirectly thus, allows for the internet enabled communication to provide the same privacy we expect within the confines of what a physical conversation with […]
This study by The DialogueTM and DeepStrat analyses the national security implications of weakening encryption technology. It is based on qualitative inputs from veterans in the law enforcement, intelligence agencies, the military and India’s tech community. The report is also a deep study of global legal and technical standards. It highlights the challenges investigators face […]
The alleged auction of Muslim women online, a repeat of a similar act in the middle of 2021, has brought to light a plethora of online and offline issues once again. In the middle of 2021, news about a digital application called SulliDeals had images of Muslim women being shared as “auctions”. The case was […]
Through recent guidelines, the Reserve Bank of India mandated the deletion of card on file details by merchants and PA/PGs post 31.12.21. They also expanded the scope of application of the tokenisation framework to help counteract potential disruption. The Dialogue and DeepStrat conducted a series of interviews with key stakeholders in the digital payments ecosystem […]
Intelligence agencies, around the world, collect enormous amounts of data on individuals on grounds of national security. They also plead for laws to access the content of encrypted messages between individuals on social media — a demand social media companies are uncomfortable with. We believe there is a strong case for analysing metadata better, which […]
Information is power. A range of organisations — from private military firms such as NSO to various instruments of the State — collect information to empower governments. The quest for unbridled power and critical information often leads to using unprincipled and unlawful means. Snooping is a grim reality since the days of Chanakya, or indeed, […]
On nuclear energy, scientist Albert Einstein prophesised that “The unleashed power of atom has changed everything ,…, and we thus drift towards unparalleled catastrophe.” In 2016, technologist Aviv Ovadya warned of the unfolding of Infocalypse, a dangerous and untrustworthy information ecosystem. That Infocalypse is now staring at India in manifest. The moot point is if […]
DeepStrat LLP is a New Delhi-based Think Tank and Strategic Consultancy. It was founded with the vision to combine rich experience in government with the best talent available in the private sector to produce sustainable solutions. At DeepStrat we focus on a broad spectrum – from National Security to Technology, Sustainability, Governance, Capacity Building, Foreign Policy, Defence and Public Policy. The DeepStrat network can help your firm navigate South Asia’s public policy space, engage decision makers, assess risks, audit security and communication strategies.