NEW DEHLI NO SECRET CODES STOLEN DURING THEFT OF 20 COMPUTERS 'No secret codes stolen' - The Times of India'No secret codes stolen'

IANS[ FRIDAY, JUNE 04, 2004 08:18:13 PM ]

NEW DELHI: Some 20 computers stolen from a defence research facility in October last year did not contain any secret and encrypted communication codes, officials here said on Friday.

The defence ministry officials, who did not want to be named, said the computers, stolen from a building in north Delhi that houses the Scientific Analysis Group (SAG) and Institute for Systems Studies and Analyses (ISSA) of the Defence Research and Development Organisation, did not contain any such codes.

Some reports had suggested the stolen computers contained encryption codes, algorithms and software used in secure telecommunication links and that the burglars had only stolen computers containing such data without taking any other expensive equipment.

"There was nothing on those computers that could compromise secure communications," said a source.

A defence ministry spokesman declined to confirm or deny the reports, noting that the ministry had said soon after the theft last year that no sensitive information had been lost in the theft.

SAG develops and evaluates software used in secure communications by the military and paramilitary forces. ISSA evaluates the performance of weapons systems and develops war game models.