The National Cyber Coordination Centre issues guidelines against Zoom app

The National Cyber Coordination Centre issues guidelines against Zoom app

Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Cybersecurity

In News:

• The National Cyber Coordination Centre (CyCord), under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), issued a set of guidelines for safe usage of Zoom – a web based video conferencing tool. 
• The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued an advisory that the Zoom is not a safe platform.

Key takeaways:

• USA based ZOOM video communication has seen an exponential rise in usage in India as office-goers remain at home owing to the present lockdown.
• The software used in the online platform is said to be made in China and some calls were being routed through servers in China.

Important value additions:

The National Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC)

• The NCCC was developed in 2017.
• It is an operational cybersecurity and e-surveillance agency in India. 
• It is intended to screen communication metadata (little snippets of information hidden inside each communication) and co-ordinate the intelligence gathering activities of other agencies.
• Some have expressed concern that the body could encroach on Indian citizens’ privacy and civil-liberties, given the lack of explicit privacy laws in the country.
• Components of the NCCC include:

• • a cybercrime prevention strategy, 
  • cybercrime investigation training and 
  • review of outdated laws. 
• Indian and U.S. intelligence agencies are also working together to curb misuse of social media platforms in the virtual world by terror groups

Zoom 

• It is a web-based video conferencing tool with a local, desktop client and a mobile app that allows users to meet online, with or without video.