US To Sell Defence System To India – Air India One levels with Air Force One

United States Of America agrees to sell two of the most advanced missile defence systems to India. The defence systems will be installed on Air India One and are being purchased for an approximate $190 Million. This will be a major leap in the advancement of the security of the aircrafts carrying the Prime Minister and the President of India. This deal will positively support the U.S. Foreign Policy and National Security and help solidify the U.S. – Indian Strategic Relationship, as per Pentagon.

The two advanced defence security systems known as – Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCAM) and Self-Protected Suits (SPS), was approved by and under the Trump Administration, for an estimated $190 Million, stated by U.S. Defence Security Cooperation Agency said in a notification to the Congress.

Keeping in mind the high-level threat to the Prime Minister and the President, United States Of America approved the request for LAIRCAM and SPS made by the Indian Government.

The aircrafts will be purchased from the National Air Carrier, Air India for defence purposes. “The defence systems, which would bring security of Air India One at par with that of Air Force One, would be installed in two Boeing 777 Head-of-State aircraft,” the Pentagon said.

The purpose of the LAIRCAM program is to protect large aircraft from man-portable missiles. “The LAIRCAM mechanism increases crew-warning time, decreases false alarm rates and automatically counters advanced intermediate range missile systems”, as per the Federation of American Scientists. It also mentioned,”The missile warning subsystem will use multiple sensors to provide full spatial coverage. The counter-measures subsystem will use lasers mounted in pointer-tracker turret assemblies. It also automatically counters advanced intermediate range missile systems with no action required by the crew.”

A panel of eight, highly qualified and experienced pilots will be on call 24/7 to fly VVIPs, along with a crew that has been specially trained for these flights. The aircraft will undergo a mandatory pre-flight inspection procedure by “Special Protection Group Commandos” to check for sabotage and secure every corner of the cabin. Every panel, switch and lever will be examined in detail with swab tests being a major part of the inspection process. Even the fuel and water will be scanned before being filled.

Considering that it will improve India’s capability to turn down major threats, the Congressional notification said “SPS will facilitate a more robust capability into areas of increased missile threats”. “India will have no problem absorbing and using this system,” it said.

SECURITY TIES STRENGTHEN BETWEEN INDIA & U.S.A.

On a recent positive 5-day trip to the United States of America, the first woman Defense Minister of India, Nirmala Sitharaman, was warmly welcomed to the Pentagon, by U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis, to discuss continued partnership initiatives that will further strengthen bilateral defense cooperation between the two countries.

India and America, boast themselves on being two strong nations with the same democratic values. Amicably connected, there is “growing mutual trust”, and a desire to support one another in the way of committed ‘Military-to-military cooperation”.

Sitharaman highlighted that a “strong foundation has been laid for the India-US defense relationship”. She also valued the U.S. – India relationship in terms of co-development, and industry collaboration, as well as co-production and scientific collaborations.

Mattis emphasized the United States’ appreciation for India’s leadership as a “stabilizing force”. His focus directed emphatically towards the significance of India promoting peace and security, around the world.

On behalf of their respective countries, the two Defense Ministers signed the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA). This allows India to receive advanced military hardware from the U.S.

Encouraged by the talks, Sitharaman, expressed confidence in the responsiveness to India’s sensitivities by the Trump Administration. 

After the official talks in Washington DC, Sitharaman signed a condolence book with respect to former U.S. George H W Bush,  at the State Department before laying a wreath beside the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. 

Sitharaman was scheduled to travel to visit the Defense Innovation Unit of the Department of Defense in California before heading towards the Indo Pacific Command Headquarters in Hawaii.

HONEYWELL SAFE KIDS AT HOME

Honeywell is globally known for “inventing technologies that address some of the world’s toughest challenges in safety and security”. Their mission is “building a world that’s safer and more secure”. This is indeed proven as Honeywell focuses its attention to SAFE KIDS AT HOME PROGRAM RESEARCH.

In countries where household burns are prevalent, Honeywell’s Safe Kids at Home Program, is working with communities in creating preventative methods to help find positive solutions. Since 2015, Honeywell first introduced the program in Pune, India to inspire a “safety culture”. Together with civic agencies, it is growing in reach.

In compliance with the Indian government’s 100 Smart cities vision, the Safe Kids at Home Program consists of interactive educational training for children under the age of 14, in schools, alongside homework assignments, videos, games, songs and play. Through knowledge, training and awareness it has been developed to help prevent child injuries due to fires and burns.

Mr. Vikas Chadha, President, Honeywell India, recognized in 2017, “ Globally Honeywell understands the space of safety very well”. He proudly commented in an online portrayal of the program, “Honeywell can supply adequate products such as fire alarms, personal protection equipment which are aligned with the safety of a particular individual”

Safe Kids at Home aims to reach out to 25,000 students and 50,000 by mid 2018. This will happen via classroom sessions involving parents as well as caregivers and events with the communities at large. It is a positive initiative offering simple safety suggestions such as “Remember to blow out candles and turn off oil lamps before going to sleep”. In addition, the program includes distributing the correct contact information for first responders in case of an emergency.

Dr. Cinthia Pinto, Program Director, Safe Kids Foundation, stated in one of her previous appearances that the Safe Kids at Home Program was one of the “first of its kind in India, on child injury prevention”.

The Honeywell partnered program works in close collaboration with hospitals, fire departments, police departments, burn units, schools and communities. As it stands today, the Safe Kids at Home Program has become a model for “fire safe schools and fire safe communities”.

Honeywell and Safe Kids Worldwide are dedicated to working with partners to protect children from preventable injuries, and are already implemented and established with their programs in India, China and the United States.

Safe Kids at Home Supported by Honeywell – the power of connected

“major breach of trust” Facebook Security Scandal

Over fifty million users have had their data harvested through social media platform Facebook. Following the crisis of Cambridge Analytica, CEO Mark Zuckerberg admits the data scandal was a “major breach of trust”, and has publicly apologized. He has agreed to testify in front of U.S. Congress, and states in a public interview that Facebook has “a basic responsibility to protect people’s data”. He promises a full forensic audit to investigate who is improperly using private data of Facebook users.

Although Zuckerberg, has pledged to restrict access to app developers moving forward, there is still  concern regarding Android users and how data has been collected by Facebook from their mobile devices, without given permission. Fears of privacy invasion on Facebook is at its greatest, although Facebook highlights that two of the Android apps have opt-in/out features with prompts.

Apple iOS mobile devices do not allow access into the users’ calls and texts data unless a certain protocol is followed, therefore iPhones and iPads, are slightly more protected. The architecture of Android is different and not so secure.

There is a growing concern in some circles, that social media platforms could face strong government regulations in the aftermath of these incidents. There may even be a decline in activity since users are also likely to become skeptical, due to privacy protection concerns. This will in turn affect advertisers.

Facebook’s most valuable asset is the user, and the ability to follow the user track. the company monitors pages clicked on, as well as posts tagged and liked. By sharing this information, Facebook makes over 90% of profits on advertising, which according to research is in the realm of close to 40 million dollars.

Zuckerberg, has spoken of a commitment to 20,000 employees, working on security and content review, by the end of the year. In a recent public interview the Facebook guru states, “security isn’t a problem that you ever fully solve; you can get to a level where you are better than your adversaries and then continue evolving”.

Stocks and shares have already plummeted, with a loss estimated around $80 billion in market value. Consumers are now being extra cautious. After-all, no-one wants a “peeping Tom” in their phone.

To read a full report visit Ars Technica.

 

 

Aadhar: A surveillance tool masquerading as unique identity?

The Indian government has faced a strong backlash over some of its decisions regarding the implementation of the Aadhar card. However it has stood its ground, countering the unjustified discourse around Aadhar and the inability of some to completely comprehend it.

When the Aadhar project began in 2009, its sole aim was to provide each and every Indian with a universally acceptable and portable unique identification. The only form of unique identification in India before Aadhar was the Ration card, which became increasingly unreliable owing to many loopholes and corruption in the system. Aadhar was conceptualized as a way out, building over the flaws of the ration card and extending its service to all individuals unconditionally. (more…)

INDIA: Is Secure Identification at your Fingertips??

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to place “Digital India”, at the forefront of his policies, has resulted in Indian officials collecting a massive biometric data base, of more than a billion people’s scanned fingerprints, and facial recognition.

Having at their fingertips, the ability and ease to make immediate payments, following the government backed fingerprint payment system. registered Indian shoppers, are ready for this fast track innovation; the ability make purchases in a split second.

In a country, where cash was used more than transaction, it was difficult to avoid fraud and corruption. Taxation payments for goods was easily avoided and money wasn’t flowing appropriately,  into the countries system. Now, with the collection of individual profiles in this government biometric ID data bank, citizens have the opportunity to open bank accounts, and have access to digital financial services. (more…)

MUMBAI ABLAZE: Are robust surveillance programs the answer?

Mumbai reflects on its lack of systematic surveillance programmes, with five reported incidents of fire in just 20 days.

Flames engulfed the sessions court building in Mumbai on a brisk Monday morning, as the incident became the latest in a string of fire eruptions across the city. The fire reportedly broke out on the third floor, with large sections of the floor and roof bearing the brunt. Fire fighters immediately rushed to the spot and no casualties were reported. In a statement to the press, civil officials underlined the wielding work on the premises as the primary reason for the fire. (more…)

Casual Surveillance: The new normal in privacy

In October 2017, Amazon announced the launch of its new security device – the Amazon Key. The Key consisted of a high grade security camera and a smart, programmable front door lock that enabled the users to unlock their doors while away from home. The objective of the device was to allow the delivery men to put the purchased items just inside the house instead of leaving it out at the doorstep in case the recipient was not at home. The launch was met with unwelcoming reactions which labelled the idea as ridiculously and absurdly unsafe. (more…)

Microsoft campaigns digital version of the Geneva Convention

Since the start of the year, Microsoft has been campaigning on a rather interesting notion to make the cyberspace safe. It has proposed that the global cyberspace be affixed with a Geneva-like convention to fight cyberattacks and other growing challenges.

Keeping the increasing rate of cybercrime and theft as the focal point of the campaign, Satya Nadella recently remarked on how formulating a code of conduct in the cyber space is as imperative as any other sphere due to its growing significance as well as complexity. The core idea behind the campaign is to render a model similar to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 that would safeguard the users against the rising malpractices in the cyber space and draw up a set of guidelines for conduct. (more…)

Top Notch Security in India, gets a Z+

Z may simply be the last letter in the alphabet to most, but in India, this 26th letter, is powerful and highly recognized. It carries its weight as a status symbol, especially, when the + follows it.

Just ask any high ranking Indian political figure or an extraordinarily famous Bollywood celebrity, and they will tell you about the importance of the letters, X,Y and Z. When it comes to protection, these symbols say it all.

As Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, awaits the arrival of the daughter, of U.S. President Donald Trump, for the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, (GES) 2017, in Hyderabad, next week, everyone’s thoughts are turning to the type of relevant security measures that will be taken to shield her, during this most important visit to India. (more…)