Indian Defence Research Facility Burgled

[R. A. Hettinga]

<http://www.hindustantimes.com/onlineCDA/PFVersion.jsp?article=http://10.81.141.122/news/181_410767,0008.htm>


HindustanTimes.com

Defence research facility burgled 

Soni Sangwan, Vishal Thapar and Vibha Sharma 
New Delhi,?October 9 

Nineteen computers belonging to top-secret establishments of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) at Metcalfe House near ISBT have been stolen. 

What's spooked the defence brass is that the computers ? which were installed in the offices of the Scientific Analyses Group (SAG) and the Institute for System Studies and Analyses (ISSA) ? contained strategic data vital to India?s security. 

The SAG is responsible for cryptography. In other words, all codes and cyphers to ensure communication security for the defence forces have an SAG stamp. The ISSA, on the other hand, analyses competing weapons systems for induction into the armed forces. 

The matter was reported to the local police on Monday by Wing Commander Ratan Kumar Srivastava. 

For the moment, the defence establishment has no answers ? only red faces. "We don't even know the extent of loss of strategic data," said sources at the Ministry of Defence. 

What?s worrying the defence establishment is that the DRDO has provided the encryption back-up for protecting strategic communications in the context of India's nuclear arsenal 

Officially, the DRDO has put up a brave face. "There is no sensitive information on current projects on the hard discs stolen," a senior DRDO official insisted. 

Spooked 

Target: Scientific Analyses Grp 
Lost: Encryption data on codes used by strategic forces 
Application: Securing communication channels of nuclear command chain 
Target: Institute for Systems Studies and Analyses 
Lost: Assessment of competing weapons systems of rival manufacturers and weapon effectiveness studies 
Application: Such scientific inputs are critical in defence buys and analysis of military hardware 
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R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'

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