GUWAHATI, Sept 27 - Even as going online has become the buzzword today across the globe and the Assam Government too is endeavouring to enhance its e-governance footprint, yet, for reasons best known to it, the State IT Department has not been properly utilized in such matters.
A case in point is the recent trend of conducting online examinations by various departments of the State Government, where the IT Department has hardly been asked to get involved�in the process.
Official sources told The Assam Tribune that the certification process for the software used in the examination process has kept the IT Department out of its purview whereas it is the most competent authority to deal with such matters.
�One of the major components of any online examination is the software�used in the process. Here, it is not known who has certified such software and thus allowing the vendors to have a free run and bringing bad reputation to the State. As the process is questionable, it also amounts to playing with the lives of lakhs of unemployed youths,� sources said.
Sources also called for roping in IIT Guwahati and other technical authorities for boosting cyber security and streamlining services.
It is a known fact that today many software purposefully keep backdoor for data leakage. The non-technical bureaucrats who conduct such examinations in close association with vendors are incompetent to gauge the danger of such malpractices even remotely.
Further, sources added, the hardware being used for such activities is also not checked adequately on the standards to be maintained, thus creating another major loophole.
�More importantly, when an online examination is held, lakhs of youth apply for the jobs, giving their personal information and other details. It is important to see where such data are stored by the vendors�and what the vendors do with these data later on. If�the�data of the candidates are sold in the �darknet� and used for any purposes other than those specified, many youths privacy will be seriously compromised. This makes them greatly vulnerable to cybercrimes, especially fraud and bullying. Women candidates are particularly vulnerable and the scar may remain with them for the rest of their lives,� sources said.
A retired bureaucrat said that it was time that stringent security measures were put in place on the digital front before conducting any online examination, failing which �malpractices may continue and are likely to assume dangerous proportions.�
GUWAHATI, Sept 27 - Even as going online has become the buzzword today across the globe and the Assam Government too is endeavouring to enhance its e-governance footprint, yet, for reasons best known to it, the State IT Department has not been properly utilized in such matters.
A case in point is the recent trend of conducting online examinations by various departments of the State Government, where the IT Department has hardly been asked to get involved�in the process.
Official sources told The Assam Tribune that the certification process for the software used in the examination process has kept the IT Department out of its purview whereas it is the most competent authority to deal with such matters.
�One of the major components of any online examination is the software�used in the process. Here, it is not known who has certified such software and thus allowing the vendors to have a free run and bringing bad reputation to the State. As the process is questionable, it also amounts to playing with the lives of lakhs of unemployed youths,� sources said.
Sources also called for roping in IIT Guwahati and other technical authorities for boosting cyber security and streamlining services.
It is a known fact that today many software purposefully keep backdoor for data leakage. The non-technical bureaucrats who conduct such examinations in close association with vendors are incompetent to gauge the danger of such malpractices even remotely.
Further, sources added, the hardware being used for such activities is also not checked adequately on the standards to be maintained, thus creating another major loophole.
�More importantly, when an online examination is held, lakhs of youth apply for the jobs, giving their personal information and other details. It is important to see where such data are stored by the vendors�and what the vendors do with these data later on. If�the�data of the candidates are sold in the �darknet� and used for any purposes other than those specified, many youths privacy will be seriously compromised. This makes them greatly vulnerable to cybercrimes, especially fraud and bullying. Women candidates are particularly vulnerable and the scar may remain with them for the rest of their lives,� sources said.
A retired bureaucrat said that it was time that stringent security measures were put in place on the digital front before conducting any online examination, failing which �malpractices may continue and are likely to assume dangerous proportions.�
