Intelligence Agencies Can Intercept Calls, Emails & Data On Your Computer

New Delhi: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday issued a notification authorising security agencies of the country to intercept, monitor and decrypt information on any computing device.

A report in the NDTV stated that “Not just calls or emails, but any data found on a computer can be intercepted. The agencies will also have powers to seize the devices.”

“In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 69 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (21 of 2000) read with rule 4 of the Information Technology ( Procedure and Safeguards for Interception, Monitoring and Decryption of Information) Rules, 2009, the Competent Authority hereby authorises the following Security and Intelligence Agencies for the purposes of interception, monitoring and decryption of any information generated, transmitted, received or stored in any computer resource under the said Act,” the notification read.

The agencies that can access this information are:

– Intelligence Bureau

– Narcotics Control Bureau

– Enforcement Directorate

– Central Board of Direct Taxes

– Directorate of Revenue Intelligence

– Central Bureau of Investigation

– National Investigation Agency

– Cabinet Secretariat (RAW)

– Directorate of Signal Intelligence (For service areas of Jammu & Kashmir, North-East and Assam only)

– Commissioner of Police, Delhi.

The order has drawn flak from the opposition, which dubbed it as a breach of privacy. Congress’s Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeted:

Reacting to the notification, P Chidambaram said, ”I have not yet studied the matter, but if anybody is going to monitor computers then it is an Orwellian state (a condition that George Orwell identified as destructive for a free society).”