Offensive And Defensive Cyber Security Capabilities Of India

There are many glaring cyber security problems of India and challenges and the chief among them is to protect the critical infrastructure of India that is dependent upon information technology. Cyber security issues in India like cyber warfare, cyber terrorism, cyber espionage, critical infrastructure protection, etc cannot be ignored by Indian government any more.

The cyber security reflections of India have not shown a good picture about India. We have no dedicated cyber security laws in India as well. Indian critical infrastructures are vulnerable to cyber attacks and we must ensure sufficient cyber security for the same. We at Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB) are managing some very effective techno legal cyber security in initiatives in India.

These include cyber security research and development centre of India (CSRDCI), national cyber security database of India (NCSDI), cyber forensics research centre of India, cyber crime investigation centre of India, cyber security centre of India, etc. These initiatives intend to strengthen the cyber security capabilities of India and resolve the cyber security issues and problems in India.  

Maintaining cyber security at the international level is a tedious task. This is so because cyberspace does not recognizes any boundary and cyber attacks can be launched from any part of the world. While cyber attacks upon various computer systems and computer resources are cause of concern yet cyber attacks upon critical infrastructures is of grave concern.

Meanwhile, India is increasingly facing cyber attacks and cyber threats from foreign nationals. Cyber terrorism against India, cyber warfare against India, cyber espionage against India and cyber attacks against India has already increased a lot. Even the cyber law trends of India 2012 by various sources have also projected an increased rate of cyber crimes in India and cyber attacks against India in the year 2012.

The biggest cyber threat against India is originating in the form of cyber attacks upon Indian critical infrastructures. Critical infrastructure protection in India requires a well formulated policy. Presently we have no critical infrastructure protection policy of India. Further, critical ICT (Information and Communication Technology) infrastructure protection in India  is one area that requires special attention of Indian government.

In the present interconnected world, cyber security capabilities of India must be urgently developed. In fact, Indian critical infrastructure and cyber security challenges and issues have assumed so much significance that Indian government declared the establishment of National Critical Information Protection Centre (NCIPC) of India. It intends to ensure critical infrastructure protection and critical ICT infrastructure protection in India. 

This is a good beginning and we at PTLB welcome this initiative of Indian government. At the same time we would keep on strengthening the techno legal cyber security capabilities of India from time to time.  

Why Indian Critical Infrastructure Are Vulnerable To Cyber Attacks?

In the present interconnected world, cyber security capabilities of India must be urgently developed. In fact, Indian critical infrastructure and cyber security challenges and issues have assumed so much significance that Indian government declared the establishment of National Critical Information Protection Centre (NCIPC) of India.

The best way to ensure critical infrastructure protection in India is to make it a part of national cyber security policy of India. Various cyber security issues of India must also be part of such cyber security policy of India. Further, besides energy, defense, transportation and telecommunication, the financial sector which includes banks and stock exchanges must be suitably protected in India. Unfortunately, till now cyber security challenges of India remain unredressed.

The reliance of consumers and businesses on the cyberspace and interconnected networks would continue to increase. Critical industries like electric, water, oil and natural gas, transportation, automotive, and aerospace are increasingly dependent upon Industrial Control Systems like Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA).

In fact, SCADA has become the new cyber attacks battlefield against India. An attack upon SCADA is essentially an attack upon the critical infrastructure of a nation. The SCADA systems may involve a human machine interface (HMI), a supervisory system managing the processes, remote terminal units (RTUs) interacting with the supervisory systems, programmable logic controller (PLCs) usable as field devices, etc.

Initially, running on proprietary control these have evolved with the availability of low-cost Internet Protocol (IP) devices, thus increasing the possibility of cyber security vulnerabilities and incidents.

The arrival of technology and augmented accessibility of broadband connectivity together with smart phones have eased the way in which consumer interacts and transacts online. Moreover, with the mass use of e-governance applications under the mission mode projects (MMPs) where citizen services are being provided online, human rights protection in cyberspace of digital citizens (netizens) must be ensured. This has resulted in the emergence of some very unique “Digital Issues” that were not available before the traditional governmental functioning.

Businesses are trying to cater this digital citizen by providing a whole host of applications operating at various platforms through various channels. Cyber security of these platforms, channels and applications are utmost important for the government and industry to ensure trust in the customer.

We must focus on the national cyber security elements- Framework, Machinery, Responsibility and Operations for all the critical information sectors like power, energy and finance. Suitable deliberations must take place with cyber security stakeholders of India on operating technologies like smart grid and industrial control system; the security and privacy imperatives of e-commerce, m-commerce and e-governance application and platforms. The cyber security ramifications at the global level must also be analysed. If Indian government is willing to protect t its critical infrastructures all these issues must be kept in mind.