‘Encryption central to trust, confidentiality, and India’s efforts of digital transformation’

‘Breaking encryption is like trying to solve one problem by creating 1,000 more.’ Noelle de Guzman, Senior Policy Advisor in Asia-Pacific for US-based NGO Internet Society, is unambiguous on encryption and traceability in the Indian context. While India has proposed changes to the ‘Intermediary Guidelines’ in 2018, which add a traceability clause for messages, cyber-security experts are still skeptical about the changes, which are yet to be finalised.

The Internet Society’s new paper on ‘Traceability and Cybersecurity’ tries to answer whether it is possible to ensure ‘traceability’ without compromising user privacy and examines some of the possible methods, especially in relation to apps like WhatsApp.