Indian Army communication network terror-proof

Indian Army officials say, it has been upgraded after Mumbai terror attacks

Indian Army communication network terror-proof

Indian Army officials say, it has been upgraded after Mumbai terror attacks

Taking lessons from the 26/11 Mumbai attacks during which terrorists used several means of communication to contact their Pakistani handlers, the Indian Army is strengthening its communication network. Though the Army uses a completely isolated network with an inbuilt safeguard mechanism, senior officers said the system has to be upgraded regularly to be secure.

"After the Mumbai attack, we stay prepared to face any eventuality," said Signal Officer-in-Chief, Indian Army, Lieutenant General P Mohapatra.

However, he refused to discuss any particular scenario or "eventuality" which the Army is preparing for. "We are moving towards higher technologies," he said.

Talking about the security features of the armed forces communication systems, Mohapatra said, "There are several methods like cryptographic controls. We also keep training our men so that there is no loss of information."

Mohapatra's statement assumes significance against the background of the recent attack on thousands of official websites by hackers. After Pakistani online crooks, this Chinese hackers have threatened various governments with maligning or stealing official data. More than 1,300 government websites were allegedly hijacked by the Chinese hackers last week.

Talking about online security, he said, "It's an open medium which can be accessed by anyone and thus is more vulnerable. But we are evolving a system and technologies to secure the available network."

Experts have hinted that the Chinese hackers could be planning to target some important government websites.

"Several Chinese hacker groups are active against Indian websites. Some of these groups are also getting government support and special training," said an officer, wishing anonymity.