Mumbai : WhatsApp users and those using encrypted messages on the net, there is shocker ahead if draft policy of the Indian government is actually made into a law. According to the Draft National Encryption Policy by Department of Electronics, Government of India, citizens and businesses must save all encrypted messages (including personal or unofficial ones) and their unencrypted (plaintext) copies for 90 days. This draft has been formulated by an expert group set up by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) under Section 84A of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
This new policy essentially means that users would need to store all encrypted communication for at least 90 days and make it available to security agencies, if required, in text form. The policy has also desired access of encryption keys to the Government.
The draft says “All citizens including personnel of Government Business performing non official / personal functions, are required to store the plaintexts of the corresponding encrypted information for 90 days from the date of transaction and provide the verifiable Plain Text to Law and Enforcement Agencies as and when required as per the provision of the laws of the country”.
