Why RAW is approaching small firms like Sunwork Consultants for its tech requirements?

In a series of emails to the Italian Spyware Company Hacking Team, a private IT company has been named as the technology supplier to India's intelligence agency. Sunworks Consultants, which claims to be an IT service provider to the healthcare and telecom space, has recently negotiated for high-end surveillance equipments, which the firm claims that it is buying these equipments for the Research & Analysis Wing of India's intelligence agency.

An Economic Times report stated a few emails released by Wikileaks last week where Sunworks has even said that the licenses should be on its name because RAW cannot buy from foreign agencies.

ET filtered through more than 3,400 such emails from Hacking Teams and revealed that India's security services are purchasing their spying technology mostly from the little known merchants that operate as go-between.

The team also acknowledged violence two weeks ago while the emails by Wikileaks reveal that the Hacking Team needed a business development executive for their business in India.

The ET report further mentions Avi Electronics, a small Pune-based IT firm which claims to be working for the Signal and Communications Intelligence which is hooking up with some unusual partners.

The report clearly shows the contrast in the procedures followed elsewhere. In the United States, large defence contractors like Booz Allen Hamilton have technology teams that provide services to the intelligence agencies. All those who are part of the process need security clearance and have to sign non-disclosure agreements unlike what is here in India.

Pranesh Prakash, policy director at Centre for Internet and Society has said, "The government must probe the role of private intermediaries such as Semco and Titan (mentioned in the purported emails). They make no mention of this side of their business --procuring surveillance -anywhere on their websites."

While Prashant Chandak of Spantel has said "We have recently received interest from one of the Indian LEAs (law enforcement agencies) to have a system where they can infect the mobile phones or SIM cards of all subscribers in sensitive areas to continuously track their location with high accuracy.”

Image: ET