BANGLADESH: CYBER CORRIDOR TO INDIA?
Cyber attack traced to Indian hackers M. Shahidul Islam
Attacker identified
The attack paralyzed 20 of the 64 district web portals, shattering the incipient cyber security around a hastily-built- system which the PM had launched recently as part of her drive to leap toward what she euphemistically calls ?digital Bangladesh?.
Alarmed, the government launched an immediate investigation and traced an Indian IP (Internet Protocol) address used for hacking the newly-launched portals. The attack constituted an assault on the Prime Minister?s office (PMO) which operates the portals.
However, the palpable silence of the government did not stop experts from saying that the cyber defence of the nation has been impregnated in a number of ways since the coming to office of the last caretaker regime. Foremost among their concerns is the sole dependence on the submarine cable system that links South East Asia with Europe, via India. Although this dependence has caused occasional snarl-ups in the system in the past, a cyber attack occurred for the first time. That is seriously troubling.
With that aim, two of India?s telecom giants?Bharti and RCom?sought permission from the caretaker regime to build a fibre optic link with Assam from Meherpur on the Kolkata-Meherpur-Dhaka-Haflong route, and, an alternative route through Kolkata-Meherpur-Dhaka-Comilla-Agartala.
Bharati Airtel?s entry
Having failed to secure that deal until the coming to power of the AL-led coalition government, Bharti Airtel invested $300 million to buy 70% stake in Warid Telecom in January last. An expert in telecommunication tinges, Bharti Airtel offers broadband land-based services to 95 Indian cities via its affiliate Airtel telemedia.
Some experts say the access to the national telecom system of a tech-savvy foreign company?that may have security interest and may act in concert with the government of India?has made our system further vulnerable.
Internal political dynamics
While that may be one of the ways to look at the cyber and other vulnerabilities of our nation, internal political dynamics also seemed to have offered a curious prelude to this latest score settling game. The incident occurred within 48 hours of an accusation having been made by Opposition Chief Whip, Zoinul Abedin Faroque MP, against PM?s son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, of his involvement in illegal VoIP operations.
Claiming to be in possession of documentary evidence relating to Joy?s involvement in illegal VoIP business, Farroque said he would provide the parliament all information and documents to prove his allegations against Joy. Farroque complained: ?Speaker switched off my microphone in parliament when I tried to raise the issue.?
Simultaneously, the government tried to divert nation?s attention by clamping down on a number of alleged illegal VoIP operators to diffuse the swirling allegations against Joy. The exercise got nastier when, in a series of ensuing raids at the behest of the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC), operations of three high-profile private phone operators were suspended, their offices closed and a number of arrests made.
Biased allegations
As the proscribed operators claimed to have conducted their businesses legitimately, the onslaught against them turned our cyber world ballistic, and for obvious reason. There are nine private operators running PSTN services among about 1.6 million subscribers (other than the state-run Bangladesh Telecom Ltd (BTCL), but no other service providers faced the wrath of the government in this latest swoop, excepting those three, prompting doubts whether the proscribed companies are at all illegal, or the exercise aims at something else, perhaps a smoke screen to destroy evidence against the alleged complicity of the PM?s son.
One of them is Zamir Tel, a UK-based company owned by the son of former speaker and BNP leader, Barrister Zamiruddin Sirker. Handler of over 1 million minutes call, the Zamir Tel pays, on average, $1.2 million revenue to the government per month, for services originating mainly from clients in Canada and the UK.
The complexity of the matter has meanwhile forced the government to beat a hasty retreat, promising on March 23 that proscribed operators would be restored back to services. This proved the degree of naivety and the haste with which a sensitive matter like this was handled. It also vindicated the doubters that the axed companies might not at all have been operating illegally, per se. So what the entire exercise was about?
__._,_.___
