‘GOING DARK’ in India: The Legal and Security Dimensions of Encryption

Encrypting communications enhances privacy and the security of information services. This, in turn, incentivises innovation in the ICT sector and contributes significantly to the growth of the internet economy. India's (now withdrawn) Draft National Encryption Policy was single-minded in its approach. It sought only to prescribe standards that would enable law enforcement agencies to access encrypted data. There are, however, multifarious concerns of users, internet companies and the intelligence community that need to be addressed. The second iteration of the encryption policy should incentivise the adoption of strong encryption standards by both the government as well as the private sector. It must explore technologically sophisticated solutions to protect information flows in the digital economy. This paper highlights some of these solutions that can help ensure that the policy remains relevant over the next few decades.