SR 71 Blackbird
BANNED
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2011
- Messages
- 793
- Reaction score
- 0
NTRO told not to use 'eagles' for domestic phone surveillance.
By Ritu Sarin, 25/04/2011
The National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) — the country's premier technical intelligence unit — has been given a new set of operational guidelines and has also been instructed not to deploy any of its mobile interception units for domestic passive telephone surveillance.
This follows allegations of the NTRO deploying its passive interceptors — called 'eagles' — in the national capital and thereby also picking up conversations of politicians.
The revamp of NTRO — being spearheaded by National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon — coincides with the submission of a special audit of its performance by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). Officials in the PMO said the CAG audit, submitted to the NSA a month ago, reveals how ad hoc appointments and recruitments had become a routine affair for the NTRO and how there were no clear-cut regulations for financial clearances and purchase of sensitive equipment.
PMO officials said action on the CAG's findings was underway, and the secret report would not be tabled in Parliament as is the case with routine CAG audits.
The NSA has now been conducting a monthly review with NTRO chairman P V Kumar and his team in the PMO. Officials said at the review meetings, there has been a reiteration of the charter and mandate for NTRO, which is cryptology, cyber security (also in critical installations) as well as satellite imagery. The NTRO has been specifically asked to divest itself of any role in electronic interception since there are other intelligence agencies performing the same function.
Critical to the future functioning of NTRO are the new cadre control guidelines that have been freshly amended keeping in mind that younger scientific minds and technicians (below 40 years) should be recruited, with clearly-defined promotion avenues. The PMO has also ensured that there is regular interaction between the NTRO's top brass and the intelligence units which are its users.
While the government had denied in Parliament that NTRO's technical facilities were being used for snooping on politicians, the uproar had resulted in a major tightening of norms and regulations for use of passive interceptors.
As reported by The Indian Express, the Ministry of Home Affairs has procured the list of imported off-the-air interception equipment from the Customs Department and is in the process of verifying the end-users.
The import of the equipment has been taken off the Open General Licence (OGL) list. A stringent punishment has been fixed for any private or illegal use of passive interceptors.
NTRO told not to use 'eagles' for domestic phone surveillance - National News
By Ritu Sarin, 25/04/2011
The National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) — the country's premier technical intelligence unit — has been given a new set of operational guidelines and has also been instructed not to deploy any of its mobile interception units for domestic passive telephone surveillance.
This follows allegations of the NTRO deploying its passive interceptors — called 'eagles' — in the national capital and thereby also picking up conversations of politicians.
The revamp of NTRO — being spearheaded by National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon — coincides with the submission of a special audit of its performance by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). Officials in the PMO said the CAG audit, submitted to the NSA a month ago, reveals how ad hoc appointments and recruitments had become a routine affair for the NTRO and how there were no clear-cut regulations for financial clearances and purchase of sensitive equipment.
PMO officials said action on the CAG's findings was underway, and the secret report would not be tabled in Parliament as is the case with routine CAG audits.
The NSA has now been conducting a monthly review with NTRO chairman P V Kumar and his team in the PMO. Officials said at the review meetings, there has been a reiteration of the charter and mandate for NTRO, which is cryptology, cyber security (also in critical installations) as well as satellite imagery. The NTRO has been specifically asked to divest itself of any role in electronic interception since there are other intelligence agencies performing the same function.
Critical to the future functioning of NTRO are the new cadre control guidelines that have been freshly amended keeping in mind that younger scientific minds and technicians (below 40 years) should be recruited, with clearly-defined promotion avenues. The PMO has also ensured that there is regular interaction between the NTRO's top brass and the intelligence units which are its users.
While the government had denied in Parliament that NTRO's technical facilities were being used for snooping on politicians, the uproar had resulted in a major tightening of norms and regulations for use of passive interceptors.
As reported by The Indian Express, the Ministry of Home Affairs has procured the list of imported off-the-air interception equipment from the Customs Department and is in the process of verifying the end-users.
The import of the equipment has been taken off the Open General Licence (OGL) list. A stringent punishment has been fixed for any private or illegal use of passive interceptors.
NTRO told not to use 'eagles' for domestic phone surveillance - National News
