The government has decided to redraft the Digital Security Act (DSA), annulling some stringent provisions like jail terms on defamation charges, and renaming the law as Cyber Security Act (CSA), law minister Anisul Huq said today.
“The cabinet approved in principle the draft of the new act. There will be no jail term for defamation in the Cyber Security Act, he told reporters at his office at Bangladesh Secretariat.
Huq said the convicts under the proposed CSA would require paying fines only instead of serving jail terms on defamation charges while he called the provision a “significant change”.
“Section 29 (of DSA) has been abolished. The only punishment would be fine, or to suffer jail term of three to six months in default. The maximum punishment in this regard would be an amount of fine of not more than Taka 25 lakh,” he said.
Huq said the proposed CSA suggested a two-year prison term instead five years prescribed in DSA section 28 which was related to publication, broadcast of information in website or in any electronic format hurting one religious values or sentiment.
He said persons to be accused under this particular section could avail bail from the court as well while the DSA made the charges non-bailable.
Commerce Ministry Senior Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh today said that successes in international trade have made contributions in the country development.
He also underscored the need for grooming skilled human resources in this regard.
The Senior Commerce Secretary said this while addressing the inaugural function of the five-day Rules and Procedures for Import and Export workshop as the chief guest organized by Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute (BFTI) at Kawranbazar in the capital.
A group of hackers have threatened a storm of cyber-attacks in Bangladeshi cyberspace. The hackers set 15 August as probable date to hit the cyberspace of the country. Bangladesh e-Government Computer Incident Response Team (BGD e-GOVT CIRT) has issued an alert in the wake of the threat. BGD e-GOVT CIRT on Friday issued a press release of the warning undersigned by the project director Mohammad Saiful Alam Khan. The press release says a group of hackers on 31 July issued warning that the cyberspace of Bangladesh would be attacked on 15 August. “Bangladesh Government Computer Incident Response Team (BGD e-GOV CIRT) is releasing this alert to warn critical information infrastructures (CII), banks and financial institutions, health care and all sorts of government and private organizations of the possible conducted cyber-attacks by the groups that may disrupt IT operations and businesses. All organisations are advised to be on alert for small to medium-scale cyber-attacks originating from the subject hacktivist groups and to take the required precautions to protect their infrastructures,” the press release reads. The press release said the hackers identify themselves as Hacktivist and have been targeting Bangladesh and Pakistan. BGD e-GOVT CIRT said it, in a recent research, identified several similar group of hackers who attack sites of Bangladeshi organisations frequently. The screenshot provided by the BGD e-GOVT CIRT in the press release shows that the hackers claimed themselves to be Indian.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel under the Karnaphuli River in Chattogram is getting ready for opening to traffic as its 98 percent construction works have been so far completed. “Now the workers are bustling to give final touch as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to the tunnel in September,” Project Director (PD) Md Harunur Rashid Chowdhury told BSS. He said workers and engineers concerned are working round the clock for opening the mega project to traffic in September. “Already 98 percent of the tunnel work has been completed. The remaining two percent works will be completed soon. However, the project tenure will end on December 30,” he said. The project director said there is no major work in the tunnel, while both tubes are ready, adding, “If everything goes well, then we can finish the work by August. However, the ministry will decide when it will be inaugurated.” Earlier, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader at a function said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will open the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel.