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Quantum Loop: For quite some time now, the United States has been working on developing a secure internet, which cannot be hacked. Now, the US Department of Energy (DoE) has released the countrys blueprint for the national Quantum Internet, which the department says would offer the internet world new opportunities and possibilities. Quantum Internet would be developed in the national labs of the department. The department has said that Quantum Internet would one day connect computers to solve incredibly complex challenges, would enable a faster flow of information and open up completely new ideas of economic development and scientific research.

The Quantum Internet would use quantum mechanics in order to transmit information in a more secure manner than is being offered in existing networks.

In order to make Quantum Internet a reality, the department has been working with several universities and industry researchers, and scientists believe that they would be able to come up with a prototype within a decade.

In a statement, the Department of Energy said that important steps towards realising this technology are already being taken in Chicago, which they say has become a leading hub in quantum research.

In February, scientists from University of Chicago and DOEs Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois worked together to entangle photons over a 52-mile quantum loop. This led to the successful establishment of one of the longest land-based quantum networks in the US. This would soon be expanded to connect to the departments Fermilab in Illinois to lead to the creation of three-node 80-mile testbed.

A distinctive feature of the quantum technology-based transmission is that it is exceedingly hard to spy on when the information is being transmitted between locations. This is the trait that scientists hope to use in order to create a network which is virtually unhackable. They believe that initial adopters of such a technology could include banking and healthcare industries, along with applications for aircraft communications as well as national security.

They eventually believe that the use of quantum networks on mobile phones would have broad impacts on the individuals and their lives.

Apart from that, scientists are also looking to understand how the quantum networld could make the exchange of vast volumes of data quickly. The report states that if components can be combined and scaled, then it might be a breakthrough in data communication.

Moreover, networks created by quantum sensors, which are ultra sensitive, could help engineers in monitoring and predicting earthquakes in a better manner or in searching for deposits of gas, minerals or oil underground. Such sensors, they believe, could also be applied in the field of healthcare and imaging.

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US starts work on making virtually unhackable internet a reality; All you need to know about Quantum Internet - The Financial Express

Its not every day you get challenged to hack a business leader. But when Jake Moore, a cyber security specialist at ESET, was invited to a debate with the CEO of a firm in Dorset on internet security, thats exactly what happened.

I bet you cant hack me, the CEO said, laying down the gauntlet ahead of the debate.

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Oh, really? Moore thought, raising an eyebrow.

He accepted, but suggested that the best way to get the debate going was to try and hack his business. This would give him three weeks to plan and execute an attack on a man hed specifically told was a target.

For some reason, I got really cocky at this point, Moore says. I said, I bet I could even get your shoe size.

And so began a cautionary tale involving a weak password, a gullible personal assistant and the size of an executives feet.

Moore created a fake LinkedIn profile, using a generated image of an attractive woman, which he suggests is the quickest way to make it look legitimate. The account had about 2,000 followers, mainly men, in about two weeks, which would seem to prove his point.

Next, Moore filled out the profiles employment history, adding lots of fantastic sounding companies and listing ITV as her current employer. He sprinkled in some personal info too, listing Bournemouth University where he actually studied as her alma mater. As he explains later, these bits of information are tailored to the victim.

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Now, with the CEO expecting something suspicious to come through any of his inboxes, Moore decided to send a LinkedIn request to his personal assistant instead. It was accepted, straightaway. He followed up with a message: I work for ITV and our production team are planning a programme on how digital marketing companies are coping in the wake of GDPR. We're keen to feature vibrant companies such as yours to jazz up the subject and you guys look ideal. I see you're in Bournemouth too. I studied at Bournemouth University and would love an excuse to visit again

The message, Moore explains, not only has the bait of TV exposure but a personal influence; Hey, were both from Bournemouth. He isnt just making a LinkedIn connection, hes making a friend too. He rounds off the email with a note of urgency: If its something you're interested in, let me know ASAP.

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The PA replied quickly, saying the company would love to, believing its an opportunity to raise its profile, while failing to do any background checks other than reading the LinkedIn profile. Moore replied back, asking if he could send through an application form for her boss to fill in. Yes, of course, she said.

So he's there thinking Jake's coming for me, I'm not touching a mouse, Moore says. However, the PA probably storms into his office, you're never gonna guess what: We're going to be on TV!

With Google Forms and some ITV Production Team graphics, Moore created a believable questionnaire. He put all the various details you would expect to see: Name, address, date of birth, and so on, knowing its going to be filled in because the unsuspecting CEO is thinking who cares, Im going to be famous.

So he added more, sexual orientation, disability, ethnic origin and then, shoe size. He tagged it as sponsored by Clarks, making it seem like a product placement spot. He also asked for a password to set up an ITV.com account, with an asterisk compelling the victim to put one in.

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No joke in about 15 minutes I get a notification that says someone has entered the details, Moore says. I kid you not, his password was Tottenhamhotspurs84. If you were going to start researching someone on the internet where would you start? Probably with someone's Facebook account.

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Im not their Facebook friend so I can only see limited things but I found out he was a Tottenham supporter from seeing his profile photos, which are public, and a public post saying happy 30th birthday which told me that he was 30-years old in 2014 so born in 1984.

A few weeks later, Moore was up on stage with the CEO in front of an audience of his employees. As he started explaining the fake LinkedIn account he could see his mark turning red, clearly beginning to piece it together. Moore had the room in stitches as he revealed all the information he was secretly able to extract.

The thing that I still feel slightly bad about was after I released it all and everyone had a good old laugh, the room fell silent and then there was a voice at the back. It was the personal assistant, he says.

I told my mum I was gonna be on TV!

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What are you giving away on social media? | IT PRO - IT PRO

Almost a month ago, the Ministry of Information Technology took the unprecedented step of banning 59 apps/services on the purported grounds that these services were prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India. At the time it was unclear what a ban entailed and how it would be implemented and/or enforced.

However, the subsequent weeks between companies voluntarily suspending their services, Apple and Google de-listing them from their respective app stores and telecom service providers being ordered to block these apps, the ban has been 'technically' enforced from the perspective of an average user that may not want to navigate the world of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and TOR. So, for now, it appears that we have the answer to the second question.

Reports now suggest that 47 more apps could be facing a ban with another 275 being monitored closely.

Forests, trees and branches of the internet

In the context of the stand-off between India and China, these moves have and will be portrayed as a strong response to China. As Alex Stamos (former CSO at Facebook) of Stanford's Internet Observatory illustrates there are several overlapping considerations - many of these are applicable to India too.

Thus, as far as the future of the internet in India (and even the world) goes, these developments cannot be viewed in isolation. And must be looked at in combination with recent events in India, its stated position on cyber sovereignty as well as global trends.

Also read: China says it will take 'necessary measures' to protect interests of its companies in India

In early July, the websites of three environmental advocacy groups were blocked without any direct warning/notice. In one of these cases, the Delhi Police issued a notice to a service provider catering to one of these groups citing the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). This notice was withdrawn 14 days later and a fresh one citing the Information Technology (IT) Act was subsequently issued.

And while it appears that access has mostly been restored, some telecom providers continue to block the websites in question. Back in May/June, file sharing service WeTransfer was also blocked. And since the relevant sections of the IT Act allow for confidentiality, these orders were not officially released in the public domain.

Though imperfect, it is evident that the capacity to execute these block-lists is improving. Media reports referencing an increase in apps being banned also indicate that a 'framework' for 'constant scrutiny' of the apps operating in India is being developed. With these developments, the groundwork for what can evolve into a separate Indian internet could well be in place. There have also already been experiments with allow-lists as in the case of Jammu and Kashmir in response to the Anuradha Bhasin judgement in the Supreme Court.

Also Read: Indias growing economic reliance on China may be tough to break

And as I've argued in this space before, in multilateral engagements, India does espouse the idea of sovereignty over 'domestic cyberspace'. It has also chosen not to make its comments on the ongoing Open Ended Working Group consultations on developments in the field of information and telecommunications in the context of international security available publicly.

This also needs to be viewed alongside developments in Hong Kong in the aftermath of the passage of the national security law. Companies like Facebook, Twitter, Google, Zoom, Microsoft and even Bytedance (TikTok's parent company) have chosen to pause processing of data requests. And may very well be the first steps towards making the 'special administrative region' of Hong Kong an offshoot or splinter of the Chinese branch of the Internet.

It is also important to note that India's actions have seemingly enabled countries like Australia and the United States to elevate the pitch of their criticism. In July, there have been instances of members from the executive and legislative branches of their governments advocating for bans on TikTok.

Breaking the internet

A recent report by Freedom House points out that 'cyber norms promoted by China and Russia are expanding to countries such as Brazil, India and Turkey' and contends that the subsequent splintering of the internet could result in more governments pursuing the cyber sovereignty model. Another report analysing government responses to disinformation across different countries (based on surveys) for the Library of Congress concluded that foreign intervention and disinformation was considered a threat to national security especially ahead of national elections.

Whether intentional or not, the tendency to pin the blame for disinformation on foreign actors also strengthens the narrative that a domestic or national internet will address disinformation/misinformation. This is likely to result in calls to link real-world identification with presence on the internet and further cleave domestic from international/global spaces. In fact, we have already seen representations to this effect made in Indian courts as recently as May. And the current publicly available draft of the personal data protection bill also proposes voluntary verification.

With the second largest (and still growing) internet user-base, India's actions will play a significant role in shaping the future of the internet. If one were to try and read the tea leaves at this juncture, it appears we are on a trajectory to break the internet, just not in a good way.

(Prateek Waghre is a Research Analyst at The Takshashila Institution)

The views expressed above are the authors own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.

Excerpt from:
Are we seeing the beginnings of an Indian internet? - Deccan Herald