India’s Challenges in Cyberspace

Introduction

According to India’s Cyber Security Policy 2013, cyberspace is a complex environment involving people, software, and services, and backed by a global dispersion of information and communication technology devices and networks. Cyberspace is a complex ecosystem that consists of interactions between people, software, and services, all of which are supported by a global network of ICT devices and networks.

The use of cyberspace in the formation and implementation of public policy has grown increasingly important: 

• It is used by the government to process and store sensitive and essential data, which might have disastrous consequences if it is hacked. 
• Disruption of numerous vital public services, such as railway, defence systems, communication systems, banking and other financial institutions, etc., will occur if cyberspace is taken down. 
• Several states are developing cyberattack capabilities that have the potential to change military results. 
• Individuals are increasingly adopting internet-based services, putting them vulnerable to cybercrime such as online bank fraud, monitoring, profiling, and privacy violations.

India is the third most vulnerable country in terms of cyber threats such as malware, spam, and ransomware, according to the ‘Internet Security Threat Report’. 

• In 2017, moving up one place over the previous year, according to a report by security solutions provider Symantec. 
• As per the report, India continues to be second most impacted by spam and bots, third most impacted by network attacks and fourth most impacted by ransomware. 

• India constitutes the second most internet user population in the world. Increasing digitisation and rising activities through the internet and mobile phones also increased the risk of cyber-attack. 
• As per the information given in the Parliament, there was a 300% rise in cyber-attacks during the Covid-19 Pandemic. 
• Cyber-attack on the State Bank of India’s customer’s ATM cards a few years back was an example of the level of threat of cyberattack. 
• With a growing rivalry with Pakistan and China, cyberattacks on vital national installations have become recurrent.

Potential Threats for India in Cyberspace 

• Breach of national security: Cyberattack is a proxy war method, and it can potentially harm national security and do a lot of damage without having the actual war. 

1. For example, Cyber-attack on nuclear power facilities can cause an indirect nuclear war. This may lead to serious implications on national wealth and human lives.

• Dangerous to financial integrity: Cyber attackers are targeting more countries’ financial systems. For example, in 2017, hackers attacked the Union Bank of India and they tried to initiate a fund transfer of about $170 million dollars. 

1. A rising cyberattack on India’s financial institutions has become a potential danger for countries financial integrity. 

• Intellectual property rights theft: As per NITI Aayog, cyber attackers are targeting countries’ intellectual property and by theft of this data, they can sell this to multinational companies in exchange for a large sum. 

1. This is potentially theft data related to traditional knowledge of India. 

• Hacktivism: These are the cyber protests that are socially or politically motivated. It includes mobile devices and applications and their associated Cyber Attacks, which led to riots and the spread of communal tensions. This has been seen in the Delhi riots, Covid-19 pandemic etc. 
• Threat to critical infrastructure: China has been attacking critical infrastructure like the electric grid, telecommunications, banking system, sensitive government websites, air traffic control etc. 

1. For example, In the Mumbai blackout, China’s hand was suspected. 

• Data theft: Ransomware attacks made to make money by cyber attackers by stealing personal information like banking data, credit card, debit card information etc. This has been seen as an increasing phenomenon, and every year thousands of cyber-attacks are carried out.