30 Dec 2022: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

E. Editorials

Category: SECURITY

1. Voice technology to combat cyber-fraud

Syllabus: Cyber Security

Mains: Potential tools to address cyber security challenges in India

Context: This article discusses the advantage of voice recognition technology to address bank and cyber fraud in India.

Introduction:

• According to data from the Reserve Bank of India, bank and cyber frauds in India are on the rise and they have cost the country an estimated ₹100 crore a day over the last seven years. 
• The frauds reported in 2021-22 were 23.69% higher than in the previous year (9,103 cases reported compared to 7,359 in 2020-21), although there was a decline in the amount involved. 
• The main reasons for the rise in fraud include greater use of digital payments, telephone banking, and online banking services. 
  • India ranks second only to China, with more than 690 million active internet users which constitute almost 41% of our country’s total population. 
• RBI has issued instructions on Cyber Security Framework in Banks and has mandated Scheduled Commercial Banks to report all unusual cyber incidents to RBI within two to six hours of the occurrence of such incidents.
  • These incidents are analysed for the pattern of attack and the vulnerabilities exploited, and where needed, advisories/alerts are issued to the banks so as to avoid repeat attacks/exploitation of the same vulnerabilities.

Read more on Cyber Crime.

Voice Technology:

• Adoption of Voice Technology (VT), which encompasses voice biometrics or voice/speech recognition technology is one of the safest ways that can be adopted by banks and establishments to reduce fraud and identity theft risks, 
• Voice Technology uses the unique characteristics of a person’s voice as identification. It creates a digital voiceprint and compares it to a caller’s voice. 
• Voice authentication can significantly improve security over knowledge-based authentication methods, exploited by fraudsters to scam people. 
• The voice biometrics industry is growing exponentially now. Experts expect the market to reach a market size of $3.9 billion by 2026, with a compound annual growth rate of 22.8%.
• Banks have traditionally relied on the use of passwords which are the weakest link in security (81% of hacking-related breaches involve weak passwords). 

Advantages of Voice Technology: 

• Compared to other biometrics, voice use is the cheapest technology as it does not require a reader or special device. 
• It is also non-invasive, portable and affords remote identification. 
• Unlike a password, a customer’s voice is impossible to spoof or copy and is far more challenging to hack. 
• VT verifies a caller swiftly in seconds by analysing the caller’s voice and flags suspicious calls. 
• VT allows privacy because it does not require users to reveal personal information.
• Voice biometrics can help financial institutions to ensure higher levels of protection for customers and employees. 
  • Since HSBC introduced a voice authentication system in its telephone banking services in 2019, fraud there has declined by 50%. 

Growing applications of Voice Biometrics:

• The global adoption of smartphones has led to a dramatic increase in biometrics for security. However, these methods are cumbersome, not entirely secure, and vulnerable to deep fakes. 
• VT can be a crucial tool for forensics and law enforcement. Law enforcement agencies in India can leverage voice to improve investigation efficiency, identify criminals, track criminals, and better respond to and prevent crimes.
• VT can also be used to verify criminal background at airport security as it has a much lower error rate, and requires no eye contact.
  • Face recognition technology has a high error rate and works best when the person is looking directly at the camera. 
• Voice could be an excellent tool for the Government to disburse money for various schemes and verify the proof of life of pensioners from their homes.
• VT has the advantage of improving user experience, reducing call handle times and call centre costs, besides ensuring high-accuracy authentication in seconds. 
  • The technology is sensitive enough to detect if someone is impersonating the user or playing a recording. It can identify even if the user has a cold or a sore throat. 

Read more on Cyber Security

Nut Graf: On the back of massive digital penetration, many financial services have flourished in both rural and urban India, particularly online banking. With rising cyber frauds in India which has resulted in losses, voice biometrics technology can help financial institutions provide higher levels of protection for customers and data.

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. India-Maldives

Syllabus: India and its Neighborhood – Relations

Mains: Political Developments in Maldives and its impact on India

Context: On December 25, 2022, the Maldives criminal court sentenced former president Abdulla Yameen to 11 years in prison.

Introduction: 

• The Maldives criminal court sentenced former president Abdulla Yameen to 11 years in prison and fined him $5 million after finding him guilty of corruption and money laundering charges related to receiving kickbacks from a private company.
• Mr. Yameen is the opposition Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) candidate for the next election due in 2023.
  • The Maldives Constitution disqualifies any candidate convicted of criminal charges and sentenced to a term of more than a year unless they are later acquitted or a three-year period has elapsed since their release. 
• Previously, he was sentenced to five years in jail and fined $5 million in 2019 for embezzling $1 million in state funds, which the prosecution said was acquired through the lease of resort development rights.
  • After his sentencing, Yameen was shifted to house arrest in 2020 and was freed months later.

Implications for India:

• Situated close to strategic shipping lanes in the Indian Ocean, the Maldives is a focal point for competition between India and China over influence in the region.
• India’s infrastructure aid, credit lines, loans and commissioning of various projects (Greater Male Connectivity Project, Hanimaadhoo airport, Hulhumale cricket stadium, Gulhifalhu port) and high-level military exchanges since 2018 have raised speculation that India eyes a strong foothold in the Maldives.
• Mr. Yameen has had a rough relationship with India during his presidential term after he declared an emergency in the island state. 
• He led the “India Out” campaign as the opposition leader, and he has continued to blame India for his imprisonment notwithstanding the most recent ruling.
  • The PPM also alleged that India had “directly interfered” with the judicial process during the trial of Mr. Yameen. 
• India’s major concern has been the impact of political instability in the neighbourhood on its security and development.
  • The incarceration of Mr. Yameen might make space for even more radical elements in the opposition in the Maldives against India. 

Read more on India-Maldives Relations.

Nut Graf: Recent sentencing by Maldives criminal court jailing former president Abdulla Yameen has its implications on India. India needs to tread carefully and actively project the image of a friendly and helpful neighbour without explicitly seeking to sway next year’s election in any direction.

2. India’s Position on Taliban

Syllabus: India and its Neighborhood – Relations

Mains: India-Afghanistan Relations

Context: Recently Taliban has issued several decrees banning girls/women from schools, gyms and public parks, and from working at NGOs.

Introduction:

• Afghanistan’s Taliban-run administration ordered all local and foreign NGOs to stop female employees from working.
• Earlier the administration ordered universities to close for women, prompting global condemnation and sparking some protests and heavy criticism inside Afghanistan.
• The Taliban had promised women’s rights, media freedom, and amnesty for government officials after taking charge of Kabul back in 2021.
• Taliban is also reneging on its other assurances, such as ensuring an inclusive government, the safety of minorities, and disallowing terror groups to operate from Afghanistan. 
• These latest restrictions on women are likely to undermine the Taliban-run administration’s efforts to gain international recognition and clear sanctions that are severely hampering the economy.

Read more on India-Afghanistan Relations.

Taliban on Terrorism:

• To date, there have been no major plots linked to the Taliban, but one year may be too short to build the facilities and smuggling and recruitment networks that are necessary to wage a transnational campaign. 
• The threat may increase as time passes. Moreover, Afghanistan’s regional neighbours and the international community are concerned that the Taliban may be unable and/or unwilling to take effective action against terrorist groups. 
• An increased transnational terrorist threat from Afghanistan cannot be ruled out in the medium and long terms.

Read more on  India’s policy towards the Taliban in CNA dated Dec 22, 2022.

Nut Graf: The Taliban’s decrees curtailing women’s rights and backstepping from its other assurances drew condemnation from foreign governments and the United Nations. As a strategic neighbour, India must look for a long-term solution for Afghanistan and review its current policy towards the Taliban 2.0 regime.