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What's the article about?
- It talks about the rising threat of cyber security to India and the world and ways to address it.
Relevance:
- GS3: Basics of Cyber Security;
- Essay
- Prelims
Context:
- Cyberattacks are on the rise in India and around the world.
- For example, ransomware attacks on the servers of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and the Solar Industries Limited company, which manufactures ammunition and explosives for the Ministry of Defence.
- Due to this attack on AIMS, nearly 40 million health records were compromised and it took over two weeks for the systems to be brought online.
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What are cyber attacks?
Why cyber attacks are rising in India?
What are the major initiatives of the government to deal with cybercrime?
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Analysis:
- Ransomwares has emerged as the most predominant of malicious cyberattacks in recent times.
- In 2020, approximately 82% of Indian companies suffered ransomware attacks.
- Data show that over 75% of Indian organisations have faced such attacks, with each breach costing an average of ₹35 crore of damage.
- There are other malwares that could infect all kinds of computer systems.
- With the lines between the physical and digital realms blurring rapidly, every critical infrastructure, from transportation, power and banking systems, would become extremely vulnerable to the assaults from hostile state and non-state actors.
- The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has shown that cyber threats capable of undermining our critical infrastructure, industry and security, a comprehensive cyber security policy is the need of the hour.
What initiatives are being taken by India to deal with cyber crimes?
- In 2022, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) introduced a set of guidelines for organisations to comply with when connected to the digital realm.
- This included the mandatory obligation to report cyber attack incidents within hours of identifying them, and designating a pointsperson with domain knowledge to interact with CERT-In.
- India’s draft Digital Personal Protection Bill 2022 proposes a penalty of up to ₹500 crore for data breaches.
- Recently, India’s armed forces created a Defence Cyber Agency (DCyA), capable of offensive and defensive manoeuvres. All Indian States have their own cyber command and control centres.
What are the shortcomings of India's cyber security framework?
- Most organisations in India lack the tools to identify cyberattacks, let alone prevent them.
- India also faces an acute scarcity of cybersecurity professionals.
- India is projected to have a total workforce of around 3,00,000 people in this sector in contrast to the 1.2 million people in the United States.
- Most of our organisations are in the private sector, and their participation remains limited in India’s cybersecurity structures.
- They would be advised to look at the Digital Geneva Convention, where over 30 global companies have signed a declaration to protect users and customers from cyber breaches, and collaborate with like-minded intergovernmental and state frameworks.
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Digital Geneva Convention:
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Cyber attacks – a global threat:
- With most cyberattacks originating from beyond our borders, international cooperation would be critical to keep our digital space secure.
- This year, cybercrimes are expected to cause damage worth an estimated $8 trillion worldwide.
- India has already signed cybersecurity treaties, where the countries include the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, South Korea and the European Union.
- Even in multinational frameworks such as the Quad and the I2U2 (which India is a member of) there are efforts to enhance cooperation in cyber incident responses, technology collaboration, capacity building, and in the improvement of cyber resilience.
- Yet, there is no truly global framework, with many operating in silos.
- Previous years have seen the United Nations General Assembly establish two processes on the issues of security in the information and communication technologies (ICT) environment.
- One is the Open-ended Working Group (OEWG), comprising the entire UN membership, established through a resolution by Russia.
- The other is the resolution by the U.S., on the continuation of the Group of Governmental Experts (GGE), comprising 25 countries from all the major regions.
Way Forward:
- With the introduction of 5G and the arrival of quantum computing, the potency of malicious software, and avenues for digital security breaches would only increase.
- India’s cybersecurity strategy would do well not to overlook these actualities and trends.
- The G-20 summit this year in India is a rare opportunity to bring together domestic and international engagement groups across the spectrum, and steer the direction of these consultations.
- India could make an effort to conceptualise a global framework of common minimum acceptance for cybersecurity.
- This would be one of the most significant contributions made by any nation towards collective security in modern times.
