ET BureauAmrita Chowdhury, Country Head of Harlequin India (of Mills& Boon fame) has just published a potboiler of her own. “Breach” is a cyber thriller set in Mumbai, involving murder, mayhem — and theft of clinical trial data. In a conversation with Corporate Dossier, Chowdhury talks about slumdog hackers, affordable medicine and clueless CEOs. Edited excerpts:
Why a cyber thriller?
It’s an important subject on which there is very little awareness. Cyber crime is much more prevalent than we realise. We hear of it when a large company like Sony is the target, but quite often companies hush it up because it affects their credibility. Till a few years ago, stealing data was not even a crime in India, till an amendment was made to Section 66 of the penal code. Now you can register an FIR, but companies seldom do. In my book, an American pharma MNC discovers data theft related to clinical trials in its Indian subsidiary, just weeks ahead of its plans to file for a global patent. The management of the Indian subsidiary, led by Vir, the CEO, don’t call in the police right away. They try to solve the case themselves, with the help of a detective agency
Vir comes across as a remarkably clueless hero. Was that intentional?
That’s how it is with most CEOs. They think the IT guys can take care of these problems until they are hit in the face with it and realise it can take down their whole business. Vir takes help from many others as he come to grips with the problem. But Vir is not the book’s hero. The story actually has many strands with different heroes. For example, there’s Madhu, a college girl who is initially cyber-bullied but fights back and comes into her own.
What are the chances of cybercrime derailing India’s BPO industry?
My book starts with the global CEO of the pharma company wondering if he made a mistake entrusting crucial intellectual property to his Indian subsidiary. But it ultimately turns out to be something else — you’ll have to read the book to find out what. The threat of cybercrime is not as big in India as it is in China. The Snowden episode shows it happens all over the world.
Why did you choose to set it in the pharma industry?
Clinical research is a growing business in India and lot of big companies are in it. Some are Indian companies, some are subsidiaries of global companies and some are small companies that do it on contract. But there’s also a personal reason for picking the pharma industry. My mother had cancer and passed away last year and I saw a lot of medicine during that time. My book has elements of that, including the issue of affordable healthcare. One of the characters is a young guy from the slums who goes by the name “Sandman.” He makes money through hacking, which pays for his mother’s medical care.
Where did the idea of a slumdog hacker come from?
It came from Nimmi Rangaswamy, who did a PhD thesis on internet usage among urban slum youth. I think she’s a professor at IIT Hyderabad now. She found that many of them start by setting up fake identities in order to chat with girls on social media sites. Then they look for money making opportunities. That is the case with the character in my book as well.
Who else did you meet while researching for the book?
I’ve spoken to companies providing cyber security services like Mahindra Special Services Group. I’ve spoken to D Sivanandan, former director general of police in Maharashtra. I’ve spoken to several pharma industry lawyers.
What’s your target audience?
My publisher has set up several engagements for me in Bangalore this month, which means they see a lot of potential readers in the IT world. It should also interest pharma people. I hope it just interests everyone.
Why a cyber thriller?
It’s an important subject on which there is very little awareness. Cyber crime is much more prevalent than we realise. We hear of it when a large company like Sony is the target, but quite often companies hush it up because it affects their credibility. Till a few years ago, stealing data was not even a crime in India, till an amendment was made to Section 66 of the penal code. Now you can register an FIR, but companies seldom do. In my book, an American pharma MNC discovers data theft related to clinical trials in its Indian subsidiary, just weeks ahead of its plans to file for a global patent. The management of the Indian subsidiary, led by Vir, the CEO, don’t call in the police right away. They try to solve the case themselves, with the help of a detective agency
Vir comes across as a remarkably clueless hero. Was that intentional?
That’s how it is with most CEOs. They think the IT guys can take care of these problems until they are hit in the face with it and realise it can take down their whole business. Vir takes help from many others as he come to grips with the problem. But Vir is not the book’s hero. The story actually has many strands with different heroes. For example, there’s Madhu, a college girl who is initially cyber-bullied but fights back and comes into her own.
What are the chances of cybercrime derailing India’s BPO industry?
My book starts with the global CEO of the pharma company wondering if he made a mistake entrusting crucial intellectual property to his Indian subsidiary. But it ultimately turns out to be something else — you’ll have to read the book to find out what. The threat of cybercrime is not as big in India as it is in China. The Snowden episode shows it happens all over the world.
Why did you choose to set it in the pharma industry?
Clinical research is a growing business in India and lot of big companies are in it. Some are Indian companies, some are subsidiaries of global companies and some are small companies that do it on contract. But there’s also a personal reason for picking the pharma industry. My mother had cancer and passed away last year and I saw a lot of medicine during that time. My book has elements of that, including the issue of affordable healthcare. One of the characters is a young guy from the slums who goes by the name “Sandman.” He makes money through hacking, which pays for his mother’s medical care.
Where did the idea of a slumdog hacker come from?
It came from Nimmi Rangaswamy, who did a PhD thesis on internet usage among urban slum youth. I think she’s a professor at IIT Hyderabad now. She found that many of them start by setting up fake identities in order to chat with girls on social media sites. Then they look for money making opportunities. That is the case with the character in my book as well.
Who else did you meet while researching for the book?
I’ve spoken to companies providing cyber security services like Mahindra Special Services Group. I’ve spoken to D Sivanandan, former director general of police in Maharashtra. I’ve spoken to several pharma industry lawyers.
What’s your target audience?
My publisher has set up several engagements for me in Bangalore this month, which means they see a lot of potential readers in the IT world. It should also interest pharma people. I hope it just interests everyone.
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