Tuesday, August 16 2005 18:30 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: NASSCOM today (August 16, 2005) said it will work with legal authorities in Australia and India to ensure that those responsible for theft of data of customers of an Australian telecom company are promptly prosecuted.

"We will work with the legal authorities in Australia and India to ensure that those responsible for any criminal breaches are promptly prosecuted and face the maximum penalty," NASSCOM said in a statement, a day after Australian television channel ABC claimed some Indian call centres were illegally selling personal information of tens of thousand of Australian customers.

It said the problem of theft of data was not unique to any single nation but affected all.

"Indian IT companies undertaking work for global companies contractually comply with all the requirements of the relevant privacy and data protection laws of the home country, as well as other security and confidentiality safeguards. But the industry is determined to raise standards even further," NASSCOM said.

"This problem, unfortunately, is unlikely to diminish as the world becomes increasingly interconnected and wrapped, criminal minds are likely to outpace technological solutions," it added.

"NASSCOM is concerned that such reports emanate from 'entrapment operations' and no person has reported any harm yet; in the absence of a formal complaint, even the enforcement officials cannot launch formal investigations and apprehend the criminals," the statement said.

The IT body urged the concerned media organisations to provide details resulting from their 'entrapment operations' and knowledge of alleged criminal activities to the appropriate enforcement officials.

NASSCOM is also engaged with enforcement authorities in India to evaluate the options open to them, the statement said.

"NASSCOM and its member companies are strong upholders of data privacy and have been continuously strengthening both the legal and enforcement framework for data protection," the statement added.

NASSCOM said it is working with the Government to introduce amendments to the Indian IT Act that will make life even more difficult for criminals.

"We are also training and supporting Indian law enforcement agencies to ensure that they are well equipped to tackle cyber crime and establishing a register of IT professionals to ensure that only suitable staff is employed in the industry," it said.