All about 10 Govt agencies authorised to snoop information on 'any' computer device

The authorisation has been given under Section 69 of the Information Technology Act, 2000. It allows the government to direct any agency in the interest of the sovereignty, defence of India and security of the state among other reasons.

ED/ Image: PTI

New Delhi: The government on Friday via an official notification authorized ten security and intelligence agencies, including Central Bureau of Investigation, Intelligence Bureau and National Investigation Agency (NIA), to intercept and monitor "any information generated, transmitted, received or stored in any computer".

The authorisation has been given under Section 69 of the Information Technology Act, 2000. It allows the government to direct any agency in the interest of the sovereignty, defence of India and security of the state among other reasons.

"In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 69 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (21 of 2000) read with rule 4 of the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Interception, Monitoring and Decryption of Information) Rules, 2009, the Competent Authority hereby authorises the following security and Intelligence agencies for the purposes of Interception, monitoring and decryption  of any information generated, transmitted, received or stored in any computer resource under the said act," a notification released by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) read.

What does the MHA notification mean?

According to the order issued by Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba, the person who the computer belongs to will have to provide access and technical assistance to the aforementioned agencies. If they fail, there will be a punishment of up to seven years.

The security and intelligence agencies which have been authorized by the government to intercept and monitor any information they want are as follows -

1. Intelligence Bureau - 

The  Intelligence Bureau  is used to garner intelligence from within India and also execute counter-intelligence and counter-terrorism tasks. The Bureau comprises employees from law enforcement agencies, mostly from the Indian Police Service (IPS) or the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) and the military.

2. Narcotics Control Bureau - The National Policy on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances is based on the Directive Principles, contained in Article 47 of the Indian Constitution, which direct the State to endeavour to bring about prohibition of the consumption, except for medicinal purposes, of intoxicating drugs injurious to health.

3. Enforcement Directorate - The Directorate of Enforcement is a law enforcement agency and economic intelligence agency responsible for enforcing economic laws and fighting economic crime in India. It is part of the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Government Of India. It is composed of officers from the Indian Revenue Service, Indian Police Service and the Indian Administrative Service.

 

4. Central Board of Direct Taxes - The Central Board of Direct Taxes is a statutory authority functioning under the Central Board of Revenue Act, 1963. The officials of the Board in their ex-officio capacity also function as a Division of the Ministry dealing with matters relating to levy and collection of direct taxes.

5. Directorate of Revenue Intelligence - The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence is the apex intelligence and investigative agency for matters relating to violation of the Customs Act .It has over the years established a reputation as a professional organization

6. Central Bureau of Investigation - CBI is the premier investigative agency in the country today, with a dual responsibility to investigate grievous cases and provide leadership and direction in fighting corruption to the Police force across the country.

7. National Investigation Agency - National Investigation Agency is a central agency established by the Indian Government to combat terror in India. It acts as the Central Counter Terrorism Law Enforcement Agency.

8. Cabinet Secretariat (RAW) - The Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW or RAW) is the foreign intelligence agency of India. It was established in 1968 following the intelligence failures of the Sino-Indian War, which persuaded the Government of India to create a specialised, independent agency dedicated to foreign intelligence gathering;[2] previously, both domestic and foreign intelligence had been the purview of the Intelligence Bureau

9. Directorate of Signal Intelligence (For service areas of Jammu & Kashmir, North-East and Assam only) - The Signals Intelligence Directorate is a joint service organisation, manned by personnel from the Army, Navy and Air Force. It has a large number of WEUs (Wireless Experimental Units) that carry out the task of monitoring military links of other countries. The Central Monitoring Organisation (CMO) is directly under the Ministry of Defence.

10. Commissioner of Police, Delhi