HOW MUCH SECRECY IS THERE IN OUR ONLINE DATA TRANSMISSION?

B. SOMANATHAN NAIR

Currently, in India, a lot of discussions are going on regarding the safety of digital data transmitted through internet. Let us analyze the situation and see how safe our digital data are from intruders.

Suppose we sent an email to a friend. This involves the following operations. First we prepare the letter by typing it on our personal computer. Next we turn on our internet connection and access our email by using our email ID and password. After these operations, we access the email of the friend to whom the letter must be sent, and send the letter either directly or as an attachment. It can be seen that this is a simple procedure.

As stated above, sending and receiving emails is a simple procedure. We feel that because of the password protection, nobody else, except the sending and receiving parties of the email, can read the data sent over internet. This would have been true if the data were sent by enclosing it in a sealed cover. However, there is no cover in email transactions and hence there is no secrecy of data.

It is well known that all mail transactions are controlled by server computers, which are owned by the mail company. The data we sent over mail will be first stored in these server memories, from where they will be transferred to the recipient of the mail. These operations show that all the data transferred through email are stored in the server memories of the email company and hence are not secret. The email company can access these data anytime they want.

Elaborating the discussions given above, we find that any data sent over internet are stored in the memories of the internet providing company and hence are not secret documents. This means that all online transactions are done with the knowledge of the internet provider; he will have access to all types of information that are transmitted through online. This point suggests that there are no data on internet that are private and hence secret.

The above point stresses one thing: Any data stored on the internet server memories can be read and viewed by the internet provider without any difficulty. However, it may be noted that these data can be viewed by hackers also. Hackers are people who illegally intrude into networks to steal data that are stored there. Password-security is not a problem for such people. There are several expert software engineers all over the world who work as expert hackers. No security measures are a problem for such people. They are expert crackers who steal into various networks and access data stored therein.

            Now, consider the claims that data stored in personal identification cards of a person are safe by various authorities of government. From the arguments given above, we can see that these claims are thoroughly false. It is clear that all the information regarding a person stored in his personal identification card is known to the internet service provider and hacking experts. Hence, it is astonishing to know that some service providers are summoned by various governments to explain the leakage of personal data.

            In this context, it is surprising to note that some educational organizations send question papers and answer papers online to agencies who conduct the examinations. It is not surprising to hear that the question papers have leaked.

            Similarly, in election polls using voting machines, manipulations are possible. Expert hackers in IT field can manipulate the results of the election.

            It is further interesting to note that nothing is a secret now-a-days in this world. We believe that what we are doing inside the four walls of our room is totally invisible to any outside person. This idea is also wrong. There are several satellites sent by various governments and agencies orbiting around the earth. Some of these satellites are designed as spy satellites, which can snoop into the private life of persons. These satellites carry very powerful cameras working on infrared frequencies. They are so sensitive that they can snoop into the rooms of houses and take the images of activities taking place in these rooms. Since the frequency involved is infrared, the affected parties will have no knowledge about the photoshoot from the satellite. This idea is alarming; however it is a reality now. Thus the phrase ‘privacy of persons’ no longer exists. This means that we have no privacy in our life. Governments and corporates decide our fate.