Recent high-profile data breaches in major tech companies have underscored the vulnerabilities in current data protection practices and provided valuable lessons to improve cybersecurity protocols. Let’s explore the key insights gained from these incidents:

Vulnerabilities Highlighted by Recent Data Breaches:

1. Insufficient Access Controls:
   • Many data breaches have been facilitated by inadequate access controls, allowing unauthorized individuals or malicious actors to gain access to sensitive data.
   • This highlights the need for robust identity and access management (IAM) practices, including strong authentication methods, granular permissions, and continuous monitoring of user activities.
2. Lack of Robust Encryption:
   • In some cases, even when data was breached, the lack of comprehensive encryption made it easier for attackers to access and misuse the sensitive information.
   • These incidents emphasize the importance of implementing end-to-end encryption, especially for data at rest and in transit, to protect against unauthorized access and exposure.
3. Supply Chain Vulnerabilities:
   • Breaches have often been traced back to vulnerabilities in third-party vendors or supply chain partners, underscoring the need for comprehensive vendor risk management and supply chain security practices.
   • Organizations must carefully assess the security posture of their partners and ensure that security controls are consistently applied across the entire ecosystem.
4. Inadequate Incident Response and Breach Notification:
   • In several instances, organizations were slow to detect, respond to, and notify affected individuals about data breaches, leading to increased harm and erosion of trust.
   • These lessons emphasize the importance of having a well-defined and regularly tested incident response plan, as well as clear communication protocols to ensure timely and transparent breach notifications.

Lessons Learned to Improve Cybersecurity Protocols:

1. Adopt a Zero-Trust Security Model:
   • Move away from the traditional perimeter-based security approach towards a zero-trust model that verifies the identity, device, and context of every access attempt, regardless of the user’s location or network.
2. Implement Robust Multi-Factor Authentication:
   • Require the use of strong, multi-factor authentication (MFA) methods, such as biometrics, hardware security keys, or one-time codes, to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive systems and data.
3. Enhance Data Encryption and Key Management:
   • Ensure that sensitive data is encrypted, both at rest and in transit, using the latest and most secure encryption algorithms and protocols.
   • Implement robust key management practices, including regular key rotation and secure storage of encryption keys.
4. Strengthen Vendor and Supply Chain Risk Management:
   • Conduct thorough due diligence on third-party vendors and partners, evaluating their security practices and ensuring they meet the organization’s security requirements.
   • Implement continuous monitoring and assessment of supply chain risks to quickly identify and mitigate emerging vulnerabilities.
5. Develop Comprehensive Incident Response and Breach Notification Plans:
   • Establish a well-defined incident response plan that outlines the steps to be taken in the event of a data breach, including detection, containment, eradication, and recovery.
   • Regularly review and test the incident response plan to ensure its effectiveness and adapt it to emerging threats and best practices.
   • Develop clear breach notification protocols to inform affected individuals and relevant authorities in a timely manner, in accordance with applicable regulations and industry standards.

Recent high-profile data breaches in major tech companies have underscored the vulnerabilities in current data protection practices and provided valuable lessons to improve cybersecurity protocols. Let’s explore the key insights gained from these incidents:

Vulnerabilities Highlighted by Recent Data Breaches:

1. Insufficient Access Controls:
   • Many data breaches have been facilitated by inadequate access controls, allowing unauthorized individuals or malicious actors to gain access to sensitive data.
   • This highlights the need for robust identity and access management (IAM) practices, including strong authentication methods, granular permissions, and continuous monitoring of user activities.
2. Lack of Robust Encryption:
   • In some cases, even when data was breached, the lack of comprehensive encryption made it easier for attackers to access and misuse the sensitive information.
   • These incidents emphasize the importance of implementing end-to-end encryption, especially for data at rest and in transit, to protect against unauthorized access and exposure.
3. Supply Chain Vulnerabilities:
   • Breaches have often been traced back to vulnerabilities in third-party vendors or supply chain partners, underscoring the need for comprehensive vendor risk management and supply chain security practices.
   • Organizations must carefully assess the security posture of their partners and ensure that security controls are consistently applied across the entire ecosystem.
4. Inadequate Incident Response and Breach Notification:
   • In several instances, organizations were slow to detect, respond to, and notify affected individuals about data breaches, leading to increased harm and erosion of trust.
   • These lessons emphasize the importance of having a well-defined and regularly tested incident response plan, as well as clear communication protocols to ensure timely and transparent breach notifications.

Lessons Learned to Improve Cybersecurity Protocols:

1. Adopt a Zero-Trust Security Model:
   • Move away from the traditional perimeter-based security approach towards a zero-trust model that verifies the identity, device, and context of every access attempt, regardless of the user’s location or network.
2. Implement Robust Multi-Factor Authentication:
   • Require the use of strong, multi-factor authentication (MFA) methods, such as biometrics, hardware security keys, or one-time codes, to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive systems and data.
3. Enhance Data Encryption and Key Management:
   • Ensure that sensitive data is encrypted, both at rest and in transit, using the latest and most secure encryption algorithms and protocols.
   • Implement robust key management practices, including regular key rotation and secure storage of encryption keys.
4. Strengthen Vendor and Supply Chain Risk Management:
   • Conduct thorough due diligence on third-party vendors and partners, evaluating their security practices and ensuring they meet the organization’s security requirements.
   • Implement continuous monitoring and assessment of supply chain risks to quickly identify and mitigate emerging vulnerabilities.
5. Develop Comprehensive Incident Response and Breach Notification Plans:
   • Establish a well-defined incident response plan that outlines the steps to be taken in the event of a data breach, including detection, containment, eradication, and recovery.
   • Regularly review and test the incident response plan to ensure its effectiveness and adapt it to emerging threats and best practices.
   • Develop clear breach notification protocols to inform affected individuals and relevant authorities in a timely manner, in accordance with applicable regulations and industry standards.

Advancements in cryptographic techniques have been instrumental in addressing the evolving threats in the field of cybersecurity. Here’s how these advancements can help:

1. Stronger Encryption Algorithms:
   • Newer cryptographic algorithms, such as AES (Advanced Encryption Standard), RSA, and ECC (Elliptic Curve Cryptography), have significantly improved the strength and resilience of encryption.
   • These algorithms use longer key lengths, making them much more difficult for attackers to break through brute-force or other cryptanalysis techniques.
2. Quantum-Resistant Cryptography:
   • With the potential advent of large-scale quantum computers, traditional public-key cryptography (such as RSA and Elliptic Curve) could become vulnerable.
   • Advancements in post-quantum cryptography, including hash-based, lattice-based, and code-based cryptographic schemes, are being developed to create encryption methods that can withstand the computational power of quantum computers.
3. Secure Key Management:
   • Improved key management systems, including hardware security modules (HSMs) and trusted execution environments (TEEs), ensure the secure generation, storage, and usage of cryptographic keys.
   • These advancements help mitigate the risks of key compromise and unauthorized access, which can lead to data breaches and other security incidents.
4. Authenticated Encryption:
   • Cryptographic techniques like Authenticated Encryption (AE) and Authenticated Encryption with Associated Data (AEAD) combine encryption and authentication in a single operation.
   • This helps ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity of data, providing a more comprehensive security solution against various attack vectors, such as man-in-the-middle attacks and data tampering.
5. Homomorphic Encryption:
   • Homomorphic encryption allows computations to be performed directly on encrypted data without requiring decryption, preserving the confidentiality of the data.
   • This technique enables secure cloud computing, data analytics, and other privacy-preserving applications, as sensitive data can be processed without exposing it to the service provider.
6. Zero-Knowledge Proofs:
   • Zero-knowledge proofs allow one party to prove to another party that a statement is true, without revealing any additional information beyond the validity of the statement.
   • This cryptographic technique can be used to authenticate users, verify the integrity of data, and enable privacy-preserving applications, such as anonymous credential systems and secure multi-party computations.

Moral attitude refers to an individual’s personal beliefs, values, and principles that guides his/her behaviour and judgment regarding what is right and wrong, good and bad, and virtuous or immoral. Role of moral attitude in shaping the perception and response to marital rape in India:

• Assumption of implied consent: Traditional view considers sexual consent within marriage as implied and does not see the need for consent in marital relationships.
• Prioritization of marital duties: The society emphasizes on fulfilling marital obligations, obedience to the spouse, and preserving family honour.
• Social norms of propriety: Open discussions about sexuality and violation of conjugal rights are often stigmatized, thereby inhibiting awareness and acknowledgment of the issue of marital rape.
• Culture of silence and victim-blaming: Oftentimes, there are instances of victim-blaming where the blame is placed on the victimsand their morality is questioned, instead of the perpetrators.

In this context, since the moral attitudes of the society are changing in general, in terms of recognition of human rights, gender equality and individual autonomy, the perception and response to marital rape in India is also shifting albeit slowly. The ethical considerations in criminalisingmarital rape in the country include:

• Whether ‘misuse of law’ is a plausible argument: There is a need to consider whether mere suspicion over the potential of criminalization of marital rape becoming a tool for harassment of husbands takes precedence over the abuse and violation of dignity faced by women.
• Whether right to sexual intercourse is absolute within marriage: The mere fact of marriage cannot presume a spouse’s everlasting consent to sexual intercourse. If sexual intercourse without consent is defined as rape in the criminal jurisprudence, the issue that arises is whether marital status can change it.
• Whether stability of the institution of marriage takes precedence over the right to bodily autonomy of women: A married womanshould get to preserve the right to bodily integrity and right to sexual autonomy. The argument that these rights lead to the destabilization of the institution of marriage needs to be considered in this context.
• Whether privacy takes precedence over justice: There is an argument that subjecting couples to detailed evidentiary requirements or surveillance measures could hamper their privacy and autonomy. However, this argument should be considered against the sense of justice it would provide women.
• Whether such a law should be gender-neutral: If the notion that marriage gives men the divine right to have sexual intercourse with women needs to be challenged, then so should the women- centric nature of this debate. The right should be gender-neutral.

As society evolves, so does its attitude towards emerging issues. Emphasis on ethical principles highlight the importance of consent and reject any form of sexual violence, including within marriage. Increased recognition and addressal of the ethical imperatives involved in the debate of criminalization of marital rape would help balance the rights of all.

India’s war of independence was won by the collective efforts and sacrifices of freedom fighters across gender and geographical lines. Tribal revolts and reform movements also played a significant role in setting the tone for freedom and exposing the exploitative nature of the British Empire. Tribal women leaders have contributed greatly to shaping the freedom struggle and defending their land against colonial power.
Following are the few among various contributors in this regard:

• Rani Gaidinliu: Rani Gaidinliu joined the freedom struggle at the young age of 13. Gaidinliu belonged to the Rongmei clan of the Zeliangrong tribe in western Manipur.
  • She asked her tribesmen to refuse to pay taxes and called out for freedom. She was arrested and tried and sentenced to life imprisonment at the age of 16 by the British. She was released in 1947 after India became independent and continued to work for the upliftment of her people.
• Putali Tamang: Putali Maya Devi Tamang from Darjeeling hills participated in the freedom struggle as a schoolgirl and actively tried to do her part by constantly keeping in touch with the Congressmen and collecting information about movements around the country.
  • She worked towards women equality in the political arena. With this objective, she formed a Mahila Samiti that produced khadi clothes, which served as symbols of the national movement. She also started a Harijan Samaj (Committee) in Kurseong, inspiring Dalits to take education.
• Helen Lepcha: Helen alias Sabitri Devi from Lepcha tribe belonged to Sikkim. During the peak of the Non-Cooperation movement, she led a huge rally to Jharia coalfield in the year 1921 at the famous Mohammed Ali Park at Calcutta. She was also associated with Netaji Subash Chandra Bose and was closely involved in formulating Netaji’s escape plan to Europe.
• Phulo Murmu and Jhano Murmu: These two sisters jumped into the battle fray with their brothers, and reportedly killed 21 British troops before they were martyred. The British brutally quelled the Santhal’s movement after killing over 25,000 tribal people. The Santhal Bidroho (revolt) of 1855-56 was in all probability, the fiercest liberation movement in India next to the “Sepoy mutiny” of 1857.

Tribal women fought on the frontline in many tribal revolts such as the Pahariya mutiny in Chota Nagpur region in 1778, the Tanti mutiny in 1786, the Tamar mutiny in 1789, the Sardar mutiny in 1830.