The National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre (NTMC) is seeking to bring all the information of government and non-governmental organizations, and telecommunication service providers, on a single platform.
A meeting was held in this regard between several law enforcement and intelligence agencies with Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal in the chair, held at NTMC office in Tejgaon, Dhaka, on Wednesday.
Asaduzzaman Khan, after the meeting, said: “In this era of information technology, people are misusing digital media to commit crimes. At today’s meeting, we discussed the necessary tools required for the smooth functioning of the organization.”
NTMC gave a proposal to create a common platform consisting of all information at the central level. The proposal to build a central data hub is under consideration, said Asaduzzaman.
“We will inform Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina about the matter. After her observations, we will consider it,” he added.
Regarding the coordination between organizations, the minister said NTMC has been formed to coordinate between all law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
NTMC is working for the state. All information must be confidential, said the home minister.
Proposals
Considering the security of the public and the state, NTMC wants to develop a telecommunication data hub with the help of service providers.
NTMC wants to connect the national data-hub and telecommunication data-hub to form a central data hub which will play an effective role in verifying any information.
NTMC has planned to develop the national data hub by interconnecting various government ministries and departments, including National Identity Card, Immigration and Passport Department, Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), Birth and Death Registration, Bangladesh Financial Intelligence (BFIU), Mobile Banking, Education Board, National Board of Revenue, and the NGO Affairs Bureau.
NTMC Director, Brig Gen Ziaul Ahsan, said: “If a local police station is directly in touch with Facebook concerning a fake Facebook ID, it is not fruitful. By sending us the information instead, we can act on their behalf in a centralized way.”
When asked about phone leaks earlier in the election, he said: “NTMC did not have any involvement in those.”
When asked if the organization will record cell phone conversations of all citizens from now on, and how will the information of an ordinary citizen be stored, Ziaul Ahsan said: “The law enforcement and intelligence agencies will store information of those criminals involved in anti-national conspiracies. Only those people will be brought under surveillance.”
He further said: “Other than them, no one will be brought under surveillance. Even if information is stored, it will not be misused. Everything will be done for the sake of national security.”
What is NTMC?
NTMC was formed to prevent virtual crime. Although it was formed in 2007, it was fully functional from January 31, 2013, as one of the country's leading monitoring organizations.
NTMC has continued blocking and filtering activities in the virtual world to prevent false propaganda.
So far, 54 websites used for militant activities have been shut down. Other than that, 578 fake Facebook Ids, 270 fake pages, 8 groups in the name of the army have been disabled. 15 fake pages and 6 fake navy groups were closed. 3 pages and 14 groups in the name of the Election Commission have also been blocked.
