Indian Air Force & Uber Mobility MoU - Why Question It?

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A few days back a section of a podcast went viral. The subject of discussion was MoU signed between Indian Air Force and Uber towards mobility solutions for Air Force personnel and their families. The so-called experts were mocking not only the concept / arrangement made by the organization, but also deriding the people behind the concept as also the leadership of the Air Force. The excuse – Security concerns on using a mobile app from a US Company storing data outside India. 

 

Which world are thses guys living in? Do they think that the Indian Armed Forces do not allow their personnel to use commercially available smart phones, or that the Armed Forces personnel and their families do not use Uber otherwise, or that these men and their families do not use any apps on their phones, or that they use only Indian made apps storing data only on servers within India, or that Armed Forces personnel and their families do not use any apps from Alphabet, Meta or Amazon, or that these companies cannot or do not track the movements/actions of their users, or that any of these companies will profile the user data only if the parent organization has a formal MoU with the said company or that the Indian Armed Forces have the budget to provide a Government Vehicle to all the personnel or that the intelligence of the other countries is so weak that they do not know the locations of the bases of Indian Armed Forces, which is crazy since we actually have railway stations named after cantonments, for God’s sake or, finally, that the senior leadership has not carried out the due diligence before giving the go ahead.

 

Given a data set of mobile usage, any amateur data analyst can figure out the workplace of any person. If you use Google maps, it actually asks the user to set the location as workplace or home when it sees you are travelling back and forth to same locations during mornings and evenings. So, there it is, if one is travelling to sena bhavan even in his own vehicle, Maps and so many other apps already know that you are working in the Armed Forces and that too in the Headquarters. You don’t have to be using the Uber app or even registering with them for Uber and the other apps to start profiling you. And even if you are using a service vehicle but carrying a smart phone, you are still being tracked. So, what are we trying to achieve by denying a welfare scheme to the Armed Forces personnel.

Few lessons to be learnt here. 

 

First, an expertise on one subject does not make one an expert on all subjects. Just because someone is a good orator and specializes in one subject should not and does not give them the right or authority to opine on any other subject under the garb of free speech. The people on the podcast, besides indulging in fearmongering, damaged their own reputation as well as their own following, by speaking on a subject clearly out of their grasp. None of the panelists in the said podcast are qualified in cyber security, mobile telephony, defence matters or mobility solutions. Still they yap!!  

 

Second, one should not shun development, technology or even an idea just because there is a risk, but we should take measures to mitigate the risk and protect ourselves from misuse, abuse or even sabotage. Pathankot, Uri, Pulwama did not happen because of Armed Forces personnel travelling in taxis. 

 

Lastly, it is a common issue in the civilian/corporate world, they get in an expert to solve their problem and then start telling the expert how to solve the problem. Likewise, here, people who have entrusted their own security to the Armed Forces, are now questioning the capability of the Armed Forces to look after the security of the Armed forces personnel. If these people are so concerned about security of the armed forces, they probably should canvass against any commercial activity, buildings, hotels in the vicinity of the Naval docks, Army cantonments and Air Force bases. For example, stop civilian/foreigner movements around Gateway of India, shut down Taj Palace hotel, Mazagaon docks, etc., the list is endless.

 

PS: Microsoft Word just auto corrected the spelling of Mazagon, above. Is it now a national security threat, Should I stop using MS Word?

Guity Till Proven Innocent - Fear Amongst Security Forces

Justice seems to be turning around on its head. Even though the justice sees everyone to be innocent till proved guilty, the security forces and the system as such seems to presume everyone to be guilty till proven innocent. To me it seems that the terrorists and the anti-national elements are succeeding in their purpose; that of instilling fear and distrust amongst the population.

This is evident from the irrational behaviour of the government as well as private agencies involved with security and safety. Don't believe them when they tell you that they are doing it for your safety or security, the fact is they are utterly, hopelessly lost about what is happening around them and even more clueless about how to stop any mishap or incident.

Going to the malls is becoming a pain. You spend more time waiting in line for parking your car than what you would in the mall shopping. There seems to be difference of opinion amongst the different malls as to the preferred method of terrorists to get the explosives into the mall. At some malls they check only the underside of the vehicle and at others only under the bonnet. I am yet to go to a mall where they check both places. Yes, they also check the boot. So the easiest way to carry explosives into a mall is to carry it inside a car, since no one bothers to check that. Either ways, I bet most of the guys handling that mirror to check the underside of the vehicle or for that matter inside the bonnet do not even know what a bomb or an explosive looks like. The closest most of them have got to explosives is the fire crackers they use during Diwali or for other celebrations.

The other day I went for a movie and the security checked me and told me to deposit the cigarette pack. I did not have a match box or lighter so I asked him why the pack of cigarettes. Rules, he said. I mean who ever heard of someone using tobacco to inflict harm on others besides smoking it.

Another funny things I have observed in hotels and malls is that they allow you to carry your mobile phone without even looking at it. In fact some of them even tell you to keep the phone in a basket and pass it so that the phone is not taken through the metal detectors. Now as far as my knowledge goes, it is very easy to use a mobile phone to act as a trigger for detonators. Wonder why no one is bothered about that.

Now another trend has started, courtesy the fake currency notes business. If you are giving five hundred or thousand rupees note to a shopkeeper he looks at it and then you suspiciously as if he were expecting you to come along with a fake note. It is entirely upto the vendor whether to accept the note or return it to you. If it is returned, one really does not know what to do with it. You take it to a bank and they will veify the authenticity of the note but then nothing stops the next vendor you give the note to, to return it again as a doubtful note. The government agencies have taken it a step forward. They ask you to write your personal details, with phone number and then the serial numbers of all the notes that you are giving before they accept it. Needless to say that they can get back to you anytime in the future with the charges of dealing in fake currency. How one is going to prove his/her innocence after a few days or weeks or months is beyond me.

There are many more such examples of unjustified and irrational behaviour. Security is a state of mind. If you look around yourself the state of mind seems to be troubled, more so the minds of security agencies and the government. All they are doing in the process is troubling innocent citizens because of their incompetence and fear. sn't that the very aim of terrorists and anti-national elements? Create FEAR...