Corporate Security: Risk and Cost Tolerance in India
STRATFOR
Geopolitical Intelligence Report
"Late last week, Indian police acting on an intelligence lead arrested a suspected Kashmiri militant near Jalahalli, a village just north of Bangalore. Authorities confiscated an assault rifle and 300 rounds of ammunition from the suspect, 34-year-old Bilal Ahmed Kota, as well as -- significantly -- a satellite phone, a cell phone, multiple cell phone SIM cards and a map of Bangalore. Several locations reportedly had been marked out on that map -- including the airport, the offices of Wipro Technologies Ltd. and the complex operated by Infosys Technologies, the global information technology (IT) services provider.
Since Kota's arrest on Jan. 5, Indian authorities have said that he confessed, under interrogation, to having been tasked with scoping out the security measures in place at Wipro, Infosys and the Bangalore airport. Authorities also said that Kota was acting under the orders of Pakistan-based militants connected to the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) to plan and carry out attacks on those sites.
The Kota case is the latest in a series of incidents and threats connected to the high-tech industry during the past 18 months, and underscores that militant groups are paying greater attention to economic targets in India -- and to this important sector in particular.
However, the danger of attacks by Kashmiri militants (or even Maoist Naxalites) is not the only threat that foreign multinational corporations -- and particularly technology companies -- now face in India. These companies are confronting what is effectively a multi-pronged security threat that also includes growing concerns about personal security and kidnappings, a greater recognition of risks to intellectual property that stem from corporate espionage, and issues related to privacy and the risks of criminals stealing sensitive customer information. Security managers today have a very different perception of the risks associated with doing business in India than they did two years ago." Read it all here.
Geopolitical Intelligence Report
"Late last week, Indian police acting on an intelligence lead arrested a suspected Kashmiri militant near Jalahalli, a village just north of Bangalore. Authorities confiscated an assault rifle and 300 rounds of ammunition from the suspect, 34-year-old Bilal Ahmed Kota, as well as -- significantly -- a satellite phone, a cell phone, multiple cell phone SIM cards and a map of Bangalore. Several locations reportedly had been marked out on that map -- including the airport, the offices of Wipro Technologies Ltd. and the complex operated by Infosys Technologies, the global information technology (IT) services provider.
Since Kota's arrest on Jan. 5, Indian authorities have said that he confessed, under interrogation, to having been tasked with scoping out the security measures in place at Wipro, Infosys and the Bangalore airport. Authorities also said that Kota was acting under the orders of Pakistan-based militants connected to the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) to plan and carry out attacks on those sites.
The Kota case is the latest in a series of incidents and threats connected to the high-tech industry during the past 18 months, and underscores that militant groups are paying greater attention to economic targets in India -- and to this important sector in particular.
However, the danger of attacks by Kashmiri militants (or even Maoist Naxalites) is not the only threat that foreign multinational corporations -- and particularly technology companies -- now face in India. These companies are confronting what is effectively a multi-pronged security threat that also includes growing concerns about personal security and kidnappings, a greater recognition of risks to intellectual property that stem from corporate espionage, and issues related to privacy and the risks of criminals stealing sensitive customer information. Security managers today have a very different perception of the risks associated with doing business in India than they did two years ago." Read it all here.
posted by HeavyHanded at
4:58 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home