Developing a pre-poll cybersecurity wall

With the 13th parliamentary election drawing closer and campaigns launched by different political parties going to start in full swing soon, the cyberspace is abuzz. So, alongside an expected atmosphere of festive electioneering, there are also the dangers of a rising spate of cybercrimes. Evidently, the situation calls for strengthening cybersecurity of all concerned including those participating in the polls as well as protecting and enhancing the capabilities of the sensitive institutions providing various services including the online ones. In this connection, the Chief Adviser (CA), Dr Muhammad Yunus, who is also the Chairman of the National Cyber Security Council (NCSC), formed on August 25 last is learnt to have ordered the NCSA to ensure comprehensive cybersecurity measures for all concerned. Notably, NCSA is the government's security and intelligence organ responsible for monitoring online communication and combating cybercrimes.

The CA's directives to the NCSA came at a time when the tide of information, misinformation and disinformation has already flooded the social media. Obviously, this poses a challenge before the government's existing cybersecurity agencies to keep the public educated so they could discern which content is reliable or not. This is important because disinformation not only confuses and misguides the public, it can even incite the people to create law and order situation. In addition to keeping people properly informed, the NCSA has also the responsibility of protecting sensitive installations and digital infrastructures, some 35 of which have meanwhile been identified as critical ones. To perform their duty in assisting, informing and protecting citizens and institutions from possible cyber-attacks, the nation's cybersecurity agencies require updating the digital infrastructures including hardware and software of the service providing bodies regularly. That is because of the evolving nature of the digital landscape which involves both technology and its mode of applications. 

It would be worthwhile to note in this connection that the cybercriminals often use the latest digital technology as well as related application software to carry out their offensive operations. In this regard, past experiences of, for example, the attempted stealing of US$1.0 billion from the Bangladesh Bank (BB)'s account held with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York by hackers in 2016 was nearly successful. The hackers could, however, transfer US$100 million to their accounts. Similarly, the leakage of personal data of a large number (over 50 million) of Bangladeshi citizens from official user websites linked to the central server of the Election Commission during late June/early July of 2023 eminently proves how vulnerable the digital infrastructures of the country's various sensitive institutions are. So, the directive of the CA to beef up the cybersecurity apparatuses of the nation as well as to keep those updated should be given the highest priority. 

Since it is the human components maintaining the digital infrastructures of the various institutions, who are the ultimate protectors of their (institutions') security, improving and updating the skill of the personnel engaged in keeping with the developments of the technology is also of paramount importance. At the same time, the performance of the personnel responsible for looking after the sensitive institutions and their digital infrastructures should be evaluated regularly. To that end, for their accurate evaluation, a rating system should be in place. Last but not least, the question of holding those committing cyber offence to account should remain one of the topmost priorities. In that case, NCSA will be required to work in sync with the judiciary. Overall, through establishing coordination among all the cybersecurity agencies and information services owned by the government and the private sectors, the interim administration may be able to provide the protection the nation needs at the moment.