Pro-active defence must to counter cyber threat

Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 9

Cyber warfare will be the defining factor in any future conflict, but India is lagging behind in this field because the requisite doctrines, capabilities and structures are still not in place.

Stating this at a session on Cyber Warfare and Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems at the Military Literature Festival here today, experts stressed the need to develop a proactive, offensive capability in the cyber domain along with requisite skill sets and doctrinal support to deal with emerging threats.

Stating that cyber warfare will play a major role in the future battlefield, Lt Gen RS Panwar, former Signal Officer-in-Chief, said cyber warfare could be used as an independent weapon.

Lt Gen Sanjeev Langar, former Director General of the Defence Intelligence Agency, said the best brains in the world were devoted to the exploitation of the cyber domain, which while being versatile and innovative, was largely immune to accreditation and detection.

Stating that Indian networks were the target of repeated attacks, he said archaic laws and regulations, including the Indian Penal Code and the Evidence Act, needed to be amended. “We need to develop a pro-active defensive mechanism against cyber threats,” he said.

Lt Gen Arun Sahni, former GOC-in-C, South Western Command, said the cyber domain transcended borders and legal provisions. Maj Gen RK Arora said India ranked number one in the number of Internet shutdowns in peace time due to internal security situations.