Cyber warfare : its implications on national security Col Sanjeev Relia

Each era brings with it new techniques and methods of waging a war. While military scholars and experts have mastered land, sea, air and space warfare, time has come that they studied the art of cyberwar too. Our neighbours have acquired the capabilities to undertake this new form of asymmetric form of warfare. India too therefore needs to acquire the capabilities to counter their threat. Cyber space seems to have invaded every aspect of our life. More and more systems whether public or private are getting automated and networked. This high dependence of our critical infrastructure on Information and Communication Technology exposes it to the vulnerabilities of cyberspace. Enemy now can target such infrastructure through the cyberspace and degrade/ destroy them. This implies that the critical information infrastructure of the country and military networks today are both equally vulnerable to enemy’s cyberattacks. India therefore must protect its critical information infrastructure as she would protect the military infrastructure in the battlefield. Public – Private Partnership model is the only model which would succeed in doing so. While the Government needs to lay down the policies and frame the right laws, private sector needs to invest into cyber security. Organisations at national level and at the level of armed forces need to be raised which can protect our assets and are also capable of undertaking offensive cyber operations. This book is an attempt to understand various nuances of cyber warfare and how it affects our national security. Based on the cyber threat environment, the books recommends a framework of cyber doctrine and cyber strategies as well as organisational structure of various organisations which a nation needs to invest in.