In the last one week, more than 100 bomb threats in the civil aviation aircraft have been received through emails, prank calls and through social media handles. So far, all the threats have turned out be hoax but it has caused huge security and financial drain on the nation. Surprisingly it is only the airlines of India which have received the threats of such magnitude. The origin of the most emails is on the foreign soil. The whole threat appears to be a part of a well-orchestrated campaign to derail the growth trajectory of India and project India as a weak nation.
The airlines industry indicates one of the most important parameters to measure the growth and economic development of the nation. The civil aviation industry in India has come a long way and today both passenger and cargo traffic are booming. Modi government has put special focus in ensuring that the fruits of air travel are available to the common citizen. The airports and the associated infrastructure have been modernized to world class standards. Any threat to the airlines is a sensational news and will be carried by the media of all types. Thus, this type of threat clearly falls under the ambit of terrorism.
Since India appears on the radar of bomb threats in the civilian aircraft, a pattern is clearly visible. Slowly, it has caused some amount of anxiety amongst the passengers. The perpetrators of this condemnable act are exploiting a new form of Cyber Terrorism to adversely impact the psyche of the air travellers and they seem to be succeeding to some extent. Cyber Terrorism is defined as the act of using the internet and other forms of communication technology to threaten or cause bodily harm or intimidate for political or ideological power. It is a new form of terrorism but difficult to pinpoint as the cyberspace does not recognise country borders and more often is faceless.
A quick analysis of the hoax threats in the recent times reveals that it was aimed at some sort of disruption, particularly during the elections and around the festive time. The objective was to cause panic and tie down police and intelligence agencies, in which it succeeded too. The security agencies were stretched and pushed towards exhaustion. A repeated pattern of threats is likely to cause fatigue and security agencies may err. Therefore, we have to find a foolproof approach to deal with such threats in the future.
Having dealt with various shades of terrorism in my military career, some suggestions and recommendations to manage such threats to institutions and important venues are being offered. First and foremost is to build a robust intelligence network in the country. Traditionally, we have lacked strategic culture as a nation and lack of credible intelligence has resulted in the enemy intruding across our borders from 1947 in Kashmir to 2020 in Eastern Ladakh. That we have repulsed the adversary with our brave military action is another matter but suffice to say that both external and internal intelligence remains a weak spot. In times to come, the threats to internal security require much more robust intelligence network including the ability to deal with the cyber threats.
As far as cyber space and IT is concerned, Indian companies provide best solutions to the world but inhouse expertise to deal with cyber threats has not been exemplary. Key government and private sites have been hacked in the past. The systems need further hardening and our ability to track and identify those who exploit dark web has to be strengthened expeditiously. Chinese and Russians have emerged as key destinations for hackers and there may be other nations too who patronise this form of terrorism.
As regards security in the airports, most of airports are under the close watch of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). CISF is doing a competent job of security related to the passengers and the airport premises. The physical and technical checks are done by the airlines staff. In order to cut corners, some airlines utilise contractual manpower. Here lies the challenge of establishing the integrity of such staff. Poorly paid, some could be easily lured by the inimical forces with financial incentive. The thorough check of aircraft before it takes off needs a totally different approach now.
Another problem area seems to be less time available when the flight has to take off at the earliest after landing. Invariably, there is a mad rush because of the competition between the airlines to appear more punctual than the others. This clearly is a huge vulnerability. Experience tells you that such hurry in preparing the aircraft to take off in a hurry can be exploited, particularly in the hours of darkness.
While the airlines have to strictly follow the laid down Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), it is also equally important for the passengers to be security conscious. The passengers have to exhibit greater maturity and cooperate with the airlines staff. Besides briefing on the safety aspects during the flight, the passengers should also be briefed about any suspicious object near their seat. In fact, passengers should be given some time to check the seat and its vicinity. Such activity and drill would make the passengers security conscious not only while travelling by air but also when travelling by rail and road.
The government, in due course, should frame legislation to deal with such hoax threats. But such threats can only be stopped through accurate intelligence, thorough checks and involvement of the passengers. Media is a key player for dissemination of such threats. A cyber terrorist achieves the aim when media, be it print, electronic or social carries the news in the headlines. Media has to act responsibly and publish the news on need-to-know basis. Any glorification only serves the purpose of the cyber terrorist.
We as a society also have to build security consciousness amongst the citizens. With massive urbanisation, the population has migrated and settled throughout the country as per job requirement. New habitats have come up and demographic pattern has also changed, particularly in the border states. In the big cities and metros, we do not even know our neighbour. The citizens have to be sensitised of the threats beyond local law & order through a concerted campaign.
With employment of correct and reliable technology, our eyes and ears can be strengthened. CCTV coverage of key installations, busy streets, malls, shopping centres, airports, railway stations etc. under an effective control centre is almost a necessity. The technology is fairly cheap now and each district administration must increase the CCTV coverage with adequate redundancy. If a school or a hospital or an airport receives a bomb threat, then we should have the full CCTV footage of the last one month. Such CCTV footage would largely specify our approach to a bomb threat and valuable time and resources thus may be saved.
Proof of the pudding would be taking strict action against the perpetrators of such crime. Besides internal laws, here we need effective international protocol and bodies like Interpol for swift coordination amongst the nations. Cyber terrorism of any dimension can weaken a strong nation like India with its persistence, scope, reach and dominance. India can ill afford to take this potent threat to aircrafts lightly and dissipate precious manpower and resources in reacting to every hoax threat. Security is a collective responsibility of a nation and its citizens for the overall well-being and prosperity of the society. Bharat would give a befitting reply to this challenge and emerge more stronger.
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