Indian National Security Needs Information Warfare Capabilities

Information Warfare and Cyber Terrorism are issues that cannot be taken lightly by any country. From these threats emerge the necessity of having a robust cyber security for defense forces in India. These issues are important as they strike at the very root of the critical ICT infrastructure protection in India. However, India is not doing the needful in this regard. Cyber War Capabilities should be an Integral Part of Indian National Defense and Security says India’s leading Techno-Legal Expert Praveen Dalal.

Today countries all over the World are actively engaged in some form or other of Cyber war/Information warfare. For instance, the US Air Force has had Information Warfare Squadrons since the 1980s. In fact, the official mission of the US Air Force is now, "To provide sovereign options for the defense of the United States and its global interests. To fly and fight in Air, Space, and Cyberspace", with the latter referring to its Information Warfare role.

As the Air Force often risks aircraft and aircrews to attack strategic enemy communications targets, remotely disabling such targets using software and other means can provide a safer alternative. In addition, disabling such networks electronically (instead of explosively) also allows them to be quickly re-enabled after the enemy territory is occupied. Similarly, counter information warfare units are employed to deny such capability to the enemy. The first application of these techniques was used against Iraqi communications networks in the first Gulf War.

Also during the 1991 Gulf War, Dutch hackers stole information about U.S. troop movements from U.S. Defense Department computers and tried to sell it to the Iraqis, who thought it was a hoax and turned it down. In January 1999, U.S. Air Intelligence computers were hit by a coordinated attack, part of which appeared to come from Israeli and French hacking. These are some of the examples how Internet is becoming an essential part of modern warfare.

According to Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India, “India needs a sophisticated and robust technological command centre to defend its global network of computer systems. It must develop both offensive and defensive capabilities under one roof. Strategic information and tactical inputs are essential part of modern warfare that can be lost or gained through Cyber war methods”.

There is no doubt that India needs good cyber war capabilities to meet the growing threats of information warfare. It would be a good idea to have a “Centralised ICT Command Center” in this regard as suggested by Perry4Law for intelligence agencies of India.

SOURCE: ITVOIR

India Needs Good Cyber War Capabilities

Cyber War and Cyber Terrorism are matters of grave concern to all countries. Equally important are the issue pertaining to cyber security of defense forces in India. These issues are important as they strike at the very root of the critical ICT infrastructure protection in India. While countries like US and Russia are negotiating to limit the impact of cyber wars, India is not doing the needful in this regard. Cyber War Capabilities should be an Integral Part of Indian National Defense and Security says India’s leading Techno-Legal Expert Praveen Dalal.

The military version of cyber war has the potential to be as serious as a nuclear war in terms of creating chaos. It could crash power and water supplies, as well as trashing the global financial systems and information systems. Russia is in favour of an internet disarmament treaty, but the practical aspects are tougher than nukes ever were.

Malware are posing significant threat to India yet there is no attention towards cyber security in India. For instance, we need express provisions and specified procedures to deal with issues like denial of service (DOS), distributed denial of services (DDOS), bot, botnets, trojans, backdoors, viruses and worms, sniffers, SQL injections, buffer overflows etc. Till now India has done nothing in this crucial direction.

India is also suffering from the menaces of cyber war and cyber terrorism. Nobody cares about any these threats in India. Media reports claim that China’s intensified cyber warfare against India is becoming a serious threat to national security. In October 2007, Chinese hackers defaced over 143 Indian websites.

In April 2008, Indian intelligence agencies detected Chinese hackers breaking into the computer network of the Ministry of External Affairs forcing the government to think about devising a new strategy to fortify the system.

As a countermeasure, the Indian armed forces are trying to enhance their C4ISR capabilities, so that the country can launch its own cyber offensive if the need arises.

Similarly, Pakistan is taking steps to intensify its cyber war propaganda against India with the help of its intelligence outfit, the ISI by carrying reports of alleged communal fissures taking place on the Indian side of Kashmir. Issues like these have to be resolved as well.

India must immediately start working upon the issues like cyber war, cyber terrorism, critical infrastructure protection, etc in the larger national interest and national security.

SOURCE: MYNEWS