NEWS & VIEWS

~~Redefining the way you approach news~~

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For IAS Exam Preparation Vol.10/August 2017/Issue-6

CYBER SECURITY
-by Jayant Parikshit

GS-III MODULE & INTERNAL SECURITY MODULE

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CONTENT
1. In the News:
a. WanaCry Ransomware b. CERT-In
In and Sectoral CERTs
b. Blue Whale Challenge c. Information Exchange with
2. Cyber Space International CERTs
3. Cyber Security (vi) Security training
4. Cyber Safety (vii) Collaboration International National
5. India’s immediate Concerns 19. Advantages of Cyber Laws
6. Combating Cyber Crime 20. National Cyber Security Policy 2013
7. Nature of Cyber Threats 21. Security Incident – Early Warning and
8. Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) Response
9. 12 sectors identified as CII 22. Cyber Security R&D
10. National Critical Information Infrastructure 23. Capacity Development/Training
Protection Centre" (NCIIPC) 24. Collaboration
11. NCIIPC - Key Responsibilities 25. Current Cyber Crime Scenario in India
12. Cyber Warfare 26. Social Media-The
The Growing Target
13. Special features of Cyber war 27. National Securityty Doctrine
14. Examples of Cyber warfare 28. DIGITAL ARMED FORCE
15. Non-State Actors and Cyber Space: An  Vision of Digital India
Overview  Army and Digital India
16. What Threat Does India Face from Cyber  The vision of Digital India can be the
Non-state Actors? vision for all ranks of the Army too
17. What Could We Do to Counter the Threat 29. Security
of Non-State
State Actors in Cyberspace? 30. Social Media
18. INDIA’S CYBER SECURITY POLICY 31. Some Popular social media platforms in
(i) Legal Framework India
(ii) National Cyber Security Policy
Policy-2013 32. How can social media act as threat to
(iii) Compliance
ance and Assurance internal security?
(iv) Cyber Security R&D Security 33. Social Media’s Impact on Young
(v) Incident – Early Warning and Response Generation
a. National Cyber Alert System 34. Positives of social media

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CYBER SECURITY, SOCIAL MEDIA &

DIGITAL INDIA

IN THE NEWS BLUE WHALE GAME

Let’s have a look at the following news items
that made headlines recently:

WANACRY RANSOMWARE

 The WannaCry ransomware attack was a

May 2017 worldwide cyberattack, which
targeted computers running the Microsoft
Windows operating system by encrypting What is Blue Whale Challenge?
data and demanding ransom payments in  The Bluee Whale challenge comprises of 50-
5
the Bitcoin cryptocurrency. tasks (one on each day) and each task gets
more and more threatening.

 The attack began on Friday, 12 May

 It encourages users to follow to the last
la step,
2017, and within a day was reported to
which is taking one’s life. The maker of the
have infected more than 230,000
claims to want to rid the world of weak
computers in over 150 countries.
minded individuals who are a biological waste,
according to him.
 Once one user has unwittingly installed
this particular ransomware on their own  The Blue Whale dare is a carefully regulated
PC, it tries to spread to other computers in challenge where participants are first given
the same network. In order to do so, test tasks to check their excitement before the
WannaCry uses a known vulnerability in actual challenge begins. The game is played

the Windows operating system, jumping over a Russian social media site, similar to

between PC and PC. Facebook and in order to participate, users

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need to user certain hashtags associated with  The Mumbai police is not sure of a direct
the game. The game is soon gaining popularity link between the suicide and the “Blue
in India among youngsters. Whale” challenge, although in the past

What is the problem? week, two other cases (one in Solapur and
the other in Madhya
ya Pradesh, of a teen
 The game has been blamed by the Russian
runaway and a student whose suicide bid
media as the reason why 80 to 130
was foiled by a teacher, respectively) have
children committed suicide between
been reportedly linked to the game.
November 2015 and April 2016.
ERA OF DIGITAL REVOLUTION
 The challenges are dangerous and sinister
and include tasks like running across the
streets during heavy traffic, not speaking
to anyone at all for an entire day, carving
numbers or pictures of whales on the
body, waking up at ungodly hours,
watching disturbing
rbing videos, and it all ends
on the fiftieth day with the user being  Since 2014-15,, there has been a renewed
encouraged to commit suicide as the final thrust upon the digital revolution &
digitalization
tion of every conceivable aspect
task in order to win the game.
of governance and public dealing of
government vis-à-vis
vis public at large.
 It is believed that if the user gets cold feet
and wishes to back out, he or she is  Programmes like Digtal India, e- e
Governance, e-Marketplace,
Marketplace, e-Outreach
e
threatened by the administr
administrator that they
etc. have been put in place which are
have all personal details of the user, and bringing paradigm shift in every aspect of
failure to complete the task would bring our existence.
harm to them or their loved ones.
 But, the pertinent question that must be
India & Blue Whale Challenge Dangers: asked currently is that, “Are we prepared

 On 29 July, 2017, India woke up to the enough to embrace these changes. If yes,

existence of the “Blue Whale” when a 14

14- then to what extent and if no, then what

year-old
ld boy in Mumbai committed suicide challenges lie ahead?”

by jumping off a seven-storeyed

storeyed building.
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 To elaborate upon these issues, lets move Origin of Bank Breach
on to some recent developments in Indian
 The breach originated in malware
banking sector.
introduced in systems of Hitachi Payment
 In October 2016, data breach in some of
Services, enabling fraudsters to steal
the leading banks in India was reported
information allowing them to steal funds.
across newspapers involving big banks like,
 The malware infection took about six wee
SBI, Axis Bank, HDFC, Yes Bank, ICICI etc.
ks to detect, compromising transactions th
 Please have a careful look at the
at took place during this period.
following newspaper clippings.
 Around 3.2 million cards were used on the
Hit-achi network during this time.

Hitachi provides ATM, Point of Sale

(POS) & Other Services.

 A forensic audit was ordered by the

Payments Council of India to detect the
origin of frauds.

Does it tell us something about the kind of

vulnerabilities that we face in digital world at
every moment of our lives?

 It was estimated 3.2 million debit cards

were compromised. Many users reported
unauthorised use of theirr cards in locations
in China.
 This resulted in one of the India's biggest
card replacement drive in banking history.
The biggest Indian bank State Bank of India
announced the blocking and repla
replacement
of almost 600,000 debit cards.
 Of the affected cards, 2.6 million are said
to be on the Visa & Mastercard platform &
60,000 on RuPay Platform.
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RBI RULES IN CASES OF BREACH IN Securities and Exchange Board of India,

BANKING SECTOR National Centre for Medium Range Weather

Forecasting and Indian Railways.
 At present, RBI doesn’t require banks to
report to public any breach in their
network.

 Onus lies on the Banks whose ATMs have

been infected, to come forward and
inform the public.

 Until then, customers who use their cards REASON FOR SUCCESS OF SUCH
at ATMs of infected Banks would be prone ATTACKS BY PAKISTAN
to risk.
 The reason Pakistani hackers have been able
to target these websites is because the cyber
CYBER WARFARE BY PAKISTAN
security maturity level of Indian government

Lets examine another recent incidence departments varies widely.

whereby Pakistan stepped up cyber attacks

 While websites of Aadhar, Ministry of
on India after the “SURGICAL STRIKES”
Corporate Affairs, Central Board of Excise and
conducted by Indian on Pakistan.
Customs, Income Tax are well secured, sites
 More than 35 Indian central and state run by smaller departments and state
government websites have been hacked in the governments are soft targets.
last few days.
 Some of these websites are hosted by small
 Most cyber-attacks have been attempts to
third-party vendors and use a lot of freeware
deface sites or, in some cases, retrieve
and unpatched infrastructure that leaves them
information but the level of sophistication of
vulnerable.
these attempts has been ordinary, say security
 Though central guidelines mandate that all
experts.
internet-related activities be done through the
National Informatics Centre, compliance level
 Critical applications run by some government
remains low.
departments are clearly not in any danger.
Some of the targets include websites of Jan
Suraksha scheme, state of Jharkhand,

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MODULE
*ECONOMY
*AGRICULTURE
AGRICULTURE
*INTERNAL SECURITY
*DISASTER MANAGEMENT
*ECONOMIC SURVEY: VOL
VOL-1 & 2
*GS-III
III TEST SERIES
Classes by Author & Economist “JAYANT PARIKSHIT”-
a DELHI SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS alumnus!

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WHERE DO SUCH ATTACKS LEAVE US?  In the past too, data from various government
sites have been leaked, including those of
 Though these Pakistani hacking incidents are Income Tax , Indian Forest Services and
more mischief than seriously damaging, they National Informatics Centre.
do flag off concerns given the government’s
digital push.  Hackers use Advanced Persistent Threats to
 The government’s growing digital footprint come in slow and low with programmes that
requires a commensurate digital security keep changing form. The government is aware
infrastructure. An EY Survey said there have of the criticality of the cyber threat but
been 35% increase in state-sponsored cyber execution needs to speed up given the nature
attacks. of risks.

 A Honeywell Process Solutions study said cyber  The National Cyber Coordination Centre was
threat from states and professionals supposed to be the country’s cyber security
sponsored by countries have increased in two- and e-surveillance agency but not much has
thirds of the 30 sectors it tracks. moved on ground.

 Yahoo recently announced data of 500 million  The National Technical Research Organisation
accounts was compromised in a state- (NTRO) has the infrastructure to review net
sponsored cyber attack. traffic but doesn’t possess operational
capabilities.
 And given India’s digitisation push, the spectre
of hackers doing serious damage only CYBER SPACE
increases.
Definition:
 Hacking and security are like shadows of  Cyberspace is a domain characterized by
digitisation. As our society gets more digital, the use of electronics and the
hacking and security-related incidents are electromagnetic spectrum to store,
bound to rise.
modify, and exchange data via networked

 In today’s day and age, there are no cyber systems and associated physical

boundaries. Attacks can originate from infrastructures.

anywhere. Earlier it was about preventing
Significance:
sporadic attacks. Now it’s about being on
guard 24x7.
 At the strategic level, cyberspace and
cyber technologies have become key

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components in the formulation and d. Several other crimes, all of which have
execution of public policies. substantial human and economic
 They have added a new variable to the consequences.
components of comprehensive national Cyberspace is particularly difficult to secure
power, creating both new synergies and due to a number of factors:

new sources of vulnerabilities.  the ability of malicious actors to operate

from anywhere in the world
CYBER SECURITY  the linkages between cyberspace and

Types of threats & vulnerabilities: physical systems

 the difficulty of reducing vulnerabilities
 Cyberspace and its underlying
and consequences in complex cyber
infrastructure are vulnerable to a wide
range of risk stemming from: networks
a. Physical threats & hazards Biggest cyber threat concern so far:
b. Cyber threats and hazards  Of growing concern is the cyber threat to
critical infrastructure, which is increasingly
Nature of threats & vulnerabilities:
subject to sophisticated cyber intrusions
 Sophisticated cyber actors and nation-
that pose new risks.
states exploit vulnerabilities to steal
 As information technology becomes
information and money and are
increasingly integrated with physical
developing capabilities to disrupt, destroy,
infrastructure operations, there is
or threaten the delivery of essential
increased risk for wide scale or high-
services.
consequence events that could cause harm
 A range of traditional crimes are now
or disrupt services upon which our
being perpetrated through cyberspace.
economy and the daily lives of millions of
This includes:
people depend.
a. Production and distribution of child
pornography and child exploitation
 In light of the risk and potential
conspiracies
consequences of cyber events,
b. Banking and financial fraud
strengthening the security and resilience
c. Intellectual property violations
of cyberspace has become an important
security mission of modern governments.

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CYBER SAFETY  India has a substantial stake in the stability
and security of cyberspace, with a growing
 Being online exposes us to cyber criminals
number of users from across the spectrum,
and others who commit identity theft,
ranging from government agencies to
fraud, and harassment.
private enterprises, besides individual
 Every time we connect to the Internet—at
users – there are now an estimated 462
home, at school, at work, or on our mobile
million internet users in India.
devices—we make decisions that affect
our cyber security.
 Moreover, the Indian government has
 Emerging cyber threats require
invested in a number of programmes to
engagement from the entire community to
leverage information and communication
create a safer cyber environment—from
technologies for the benefit of its citizens.
government and law enforcement to the
This accelerated capacity building has
private sector and, most importantly,
implications for the country’s national
members of the public.
security.
India’s immediate Concerns  Cyber has added a new dimension to
conflicts and wars. Cyber operations have
 Most of our operations these days depend
the capacity not just to augment
on information technology (IT) systems
conventional military operations, but to
and computer networks for essential
subvert them. Attacks in cyberspace can
operations. These systems face large and
be fast, silent, inexpensive to mount, and
diverse cyber threats that range from
potentially, devastating in their impact.
unsophisticated hackers to technically
While boots on the ground are not going
competent intruders using state-of-the-art
to be replaced by cyber armies operating
intrusion techniques.
in a virtual battlefield in the near future,
information dominance in the battlefield
 Many malicious attacks are designed to
may well make the difference between
steal information and disrupt, deny access
victory and defeat. The crossover between
to, degrade, or destroy critical information
cyber and space, and the role of cyber in
systems.
nuclear deterrence, add to the challenges
nations face in maintaining cyber security.

What can we do about it?

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 The relevant department of government  Complementary cybersecurity and law
must work with each civilian department enforcement capabilities are critical to
and agency to promote the adoption of safeguarding and securing cyberspace.
common policies and best practices that
are risk-based and able to effectively  Law enforcement performs an essential
respond to the pace of ever-changing role in achieving our nation’s cybersecurity
threats. objectives by investigating a wide range of
 As systems are protected, alerts can be cyber crimes, from theft and fraud to child
issued at machine speed when events are exploitation, and apprehending and
detected to help protect networks across prosecuting those responsible.
the government information technology
enterprise and the private sector.  The government department works with
other agencies to conduct high-impact
 This enterprise approach will help criminal investigations to disrupt and
transform the way civilian agencies defeat cyber criminals, prioritize the
manage cyber networks through recruitment and training of technical
strategically sourced tools and services experts, develop standardized methods,
that enhance the speed and cost and broadly share cyber response best
effectiveness of government’s practices and tools.
cybersecurity procurements and allow
consistent application of best practices.  Criminal investigators and network
security experts with deep understanding
COMBATING CYBER CRIME
of the technologies malicious actors are
Today’s world is more interconnected than using and the specific vulnerabilities they
ever before. Yet, for all its advantages, are targeting work to effectively respond
increased connectivity brings increased risk of to and investigate cyber incidents.
theft, fraud, and abuse. As Indians become
more reliant on modern technology, we also NATURE OF CYBER THREATS
become more vulnerable to cyberattacks such
The threats in cyberspace are varying
as corporate security breaches, spear phishing,
in nature and intensity.
and social media fraud.

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 Leading companies operating in the notification announcing the creation of a
energy, telecommunications, finance and specialised body to protect India’s CIIs.
transportation sectors are targets of
Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs).  The National Critical Information
Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC)

 Non-state actors, such as terrorist was created and placed under the

organisations and criminal syndicates, technical intelligence agency, the National

have become tech-savvy, employing Technical Research Organisation, to roll

human resources to develop malware. out counter-measures in cooperation with

These tools are used extensively in other security agencies and private

committing cybercrime. corporate entities that man these critical

sectors.
 Terrorist organisations leverage the The government has identified 12
benefits of cyberspace, harnessing it for
ideology propagation, recruitment and
sectors that fit the bill and can be
communication. The Islamic State of Iraq covered under the NCIIPC project as
and Syria (ISIS), for example, is a prime
case study. It leverages its tremendous mandated by Section 70A of the
presence on social media to spread amended IT Act.
propaganda and recruit sympathisers,
1. Energy
from every corner of the world, as fighters.
Al-Qaeda is also reported to have 2. Transportation (air, surface, rail & water)
developed encryption software to secure 3. Banking & Finance
its communication in cyberspace.
4. Telecommunication
5. Defence
CRITICAL INFORMATION 6. Space
INFRASTRUCTURE (CII) 7. Law enforcement, security & intelligence

 The threats of the future will come from 8. Sensitive Government organisations

cyberspace. And this fact has been well 9. Public Health

understood by governments across globe 10. Water supply

including India. 11. Critical manufacturing

12. E-Governance

 On January 16, 2014, the Department of

Information Technology (DIT) issued a

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GS ECONOMY PT-CUM-MAIN

COURSE DURATION: 40 days

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GS-III
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“JAYANT PARIKSHIT
PARIKSHIT”-
a DELHI SCHOOL OF
ECONOMICS alumnus!

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NATIONAL CRITICAL INFORMATION involves an attempt to physically wound or
INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION kill enemy combatants. Conforming to the
CENTRE (NCIIPC) layman’s understanding of war, cyber
warfare is also a kind of contest of force
 National Critical Information Infrastructure
and perhaps even of arms. However, such
Protection Centre" (NCIIPC) of National
attacks are rarely public, and the point is
Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) is
not always to wound or kill enemy soldiers,
the nodal agency for taking all measures
but to destroy property.
including associated Research and
Development for the protection of CIIs in
 The desired effects of cyber attacks are
India.
mostly indirect, which means what would
NCIIPC - Key Responsibilities
normally be considered secondary effects
1. National Nodal Agency to protect NCII.
are in fact of central importance. So
2. Deliver advice to reduce vulnerabilities.
naturally, the destruction of property,
3. Identify all CII elements for notification.
produces suffering among civilians and
4. Provide strategic leadership and coherent
perhaps also combatants as foreseeable
Government response.
secondary effect. Countries’ growing
5. Coordinate, share, monitor, collect,
dependence on computer networks hence
analyse and forecast threats.
has increased their vulnerability to cyber
6. Develop plans, adopt standards, share best
warfare.
practices and refine procurement
processes.  Cyber warfare has been defined by
7. Evolve protection strategies, policies, government security expert Richard A.
vulnerability assessment and auditing Clarke, in his book Cyber War (May 2010),
methodologies and plans for CII. as “actions by a nation-state to penetrate
8. Undertake R&D to create, collaborate and another nation’s computers or networks
develop technologies for growth of CII for the purposes of causing damage or
protection. disruption.”
CYBER WARFARE
 Cyberspace is not a physical place, unlike a
 When we speak of ‘war’, traditionally, it
real combat zone, but “it is a ‘virtual
deals with the commitment of hostilities
interactive experience’ accessible
that involve arms and more precisely
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regardless of geographic location.
 Furthermore, cyber warfare primarily
 Cyber warfare is a contested concept. involves an attack on a computer system
Cyber espionage, attack on critical using another computer. This means that
infrastructures, etc. are routine cyber warriors often act remotely and
happenings in cyberspace. So far, military launch the attack from within the territory
means have not been used to deter of their own state, thereby reducing, or
attacks. Nor have economic sanctions been even eliminating, the likelihood of
used because attributing a cyberattack has casualties to their own forces.
been so difficult. Further, many victims
feel shy of reporting cyberattacks. Such  Moreover, cyber warfare may cause

incidents have not been regarded as acts catastrophic effects:“Computer bugs bring

of warfare thus far because no definition down military e-mail systems; oil refineries

of cyberwarfare exists. Whether a and pipelines explode; air-traffic-control

cyberattack is seen as a component of systems collapse; freight and metro trains

cyberwarfare will depend upon the derail; financial data are scrambled; the

context of the attack. electrical grid goes down, orbiting

satellites spin out of control. Society soon
SPECIAL FEATURES OF CYBER
breaks down as food becomes scarce and
WAR
money runs out”
 The reason why cyber warfare is becoming
an important weapon is that the growing
 One of the political consequences of
dependence of modern militaries “upon
distributed warfare and its asymmetric
secure, timely flows of massive amounts of
potential is that it may also break down
information” means that any “disruption
the traditional value of military alliances,
would quickly have a crippling effect on
especially the provision of extended
the ability to fight”.
deterrence.

 “Attacking a nation’s critical infrastructure  Some countries benefit from the technical
allows a hostile state to erode the victim support of its intelligence alliances, in
state’s internal operational viability” and preparing for cyberwar and conducting
consequently also the infrastructure that information operations. In NATO, the
supports military actions. United States has agreed with its alliance
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partners that an attack in cyberspace can infrastructure on the contrary has been
constitute an armed attack for the purpose created and is owned mostly by private
of invoking mutual response under Article business houses and organisations. Thus,
5 of the treaty. they belong to the first category. They also
are amongst the most targeted elements
EXAMPLES OF CYBERWARFARE
of cyberspace.
 Most recently in the year 2010, Iran was 2. The second category is the cyberterrorists
attacked by the Stuxnet worm, thought to who pose a threat in cyberspace. They
specifically target its Natanz nuclear form part of radical organisations such as
enrichment facility. The worm is said to be the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and
the most advanced piece of malware ever Al-Qaeda. These are the people who
discovered and significantly increases the indulge in the use of the Internet and
profile of cyber warfare. networks against critical national
infrastructures in order to hit or intimidate
 These incidents clearly point towards the a society and its peoples causing casualties
gravity of how cyber warfare has become a or injuries for ideological, political or
major threat to every country in the world. religious reasons.

NON-STATE ACTORS AND

 Though not many examples of major
CYBERSPACE: AN OVERVIEW
cyberattacks by such non-state actors can
 Cyberspace is an arena where non-state
be cited, yet that does not imply that these
actors of various kinds thrive. Once again,
groups are not capable of undertaking
there are no universal classifications of
such acts. These organisations are
such players. We can broadly identify two
exploiting cyberspace in other manners
distinct categories of groups that could be
too. Recruitment, generation of funds,
termed as non-state actors operating in
projection of power and propaganda using
the cyberspace.
the social media are some of the activities
1. The first type of non-state actors is
being undertaken by cyberterrorists.
organisations that have created
cyberspace. Critical infrastructure of most
 For example, consider the manner in which
nations is created and largely owned by
ISIS is targeting the US Government
the government of the country. Cyber
websites. As per some news reports that
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appeared in the US media in December  We are in the process of creating 100
2015, ISIS is looking to expand its online smart cities. A large number of other such
capabilities in order to carry out projects are either already in the process
cyberattacks against US targets, including of being implemented or are on the anvil.
the federal government and airplanes. With the state of automation and

What Threat Does India Face from networking improving, India’s critical
Cyber Non-state Actors? information infrastructure will become
vulnerable to cyberattacks. Cyber non-
Lets us analyse the major threats that
state actors therefore would pose a
India faces from cyber non-state actors
constant threat to our critical information

1. Sabotaging the Critical Info-infrastructure: infrastructure during both peacetime and

 Sabotage is an inherent part of wartime.

Cyberwarfare. Malicious software and 2. Subversion:

cyberattacks are ideal instruments of  Another activity which non-state actors

sabotage. This is especially applicable for can undertake effectively through the

sectors which provide direct services to cyberspace against India is subversion –

consumers such as telecom, banking and subversion of human resource as well as

power. As systems become more complex, system subversion.

the knowledge required to attack them

also becomes more complex. Unless the  Many a times, an adversary can achieve

attacker is backed up with full financial and much more by internal subversion than

knowledge support, sabotaging industrial going to war. IT has enabled proliferation

control system will be a difficult task. of subversive causes and ideas. Because of

While a nation state may undertake cyberspace, subversion has become more

sabotage through the cyber domain in war cause driven, it is seeing higher levels of

as part of its strategic offensive cyber membership mobility and is now

policy, in peacetime, non-state actors are characterised by lower levels of

the most suited cyber adversaries who can organisational controls.

achieve such a task with ease as they have

 One common tool of all subversion activity
all the necessary backing of the state.
is media, be it print, visual or online media.
The exponential rise and infinite reach of

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social media today has made it a perfect 3. Espionage:
tool for subversive activities. The kind of  From nation states to novice hackers,
influence social media has on the society everyone seems to be stealing information
has got our government thinking about the using cyberspace. While espionage was
impact it can have on the internal security always a part of any military campaign and
of the country. Today politicians, senior study, private lives of ordinary citizens
government officials and scholars can were generally not much affected by such
often be heard voicing their concern about activities.
the negative and subversive impact of  Today cyber surveillance technologies
social media. Whether it is the Pak-based range from malware which infects a target
agents’ honeytrap involving defence computer to record every keystroke, to
personnel or the recent arrest of ISIS systems for tapping undersea fibre-optic
operators in India, subversion seems to be cables in order to monitor the
high on the list of activities of our communications of the entire population.
neighbouring nation. Most of the world is inadequately
prepared for defending against these new
 System subversion is the covert and types of surveillance and espionage
methodical undermining of internal and techniques. Nation states using their state
external controls over a system lifetime to machinery do indulge in all kinds of cyber
allow unauthorised or undetected access espionage activities. Non-state actors can
to system resources and information. assist the government in undertaking this
Network or system subversion, unlike a task more effectively.
cyberattack is a very specialised operation.
Subversion requires the subverter to have  The above are just some of the ways a
sufficient access to the system at one or nation can employ non-state actors in
more points during its life cycle to exert cyberspace.
influence on its design, implementation,
distribution, installation, and/or  While sabotage, subversion and espionage

production in a way that can later be used would be the main motives behind

to bypass the protection mechanisms. employing cyber militia, there could be

Both software and hardware can become many other ways to use them in spreading

victims of system subversion. terror in India using cyberspace.

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way people and devices work together to
 Our armed forces and other governmental secure cyberspace.
organisations have mastered the ways to
counter state-sponsored terrorism in J&K  All this is not so easy to achieve and
and the North East; we will now have to considerable time, money and effort will
learn innovative methods for fighting have to be spent to establish such an
actions perpetuated through the cyber ecosystem in the country.
domain.

What Could We Do to Counter the  Along with this, strengthening of the

Threat of Non-State Actors in regulatory framework of the country to
Cyberspace? ensure that legal cover is available to this
 Cybersecurity cannot be ensured just by framework will also be required.
the government of the nation. While the
government can lay down policies with a  A large part of our nation is coping with
broad framework of establishing a secure problems of terrorism, left-wing
cyber ecosystem and provide a legal extremism or communal violence. If these
framework for the implementation of such radical elements take the cyber route to
policies, it is the responsibility of every spread terror, they could cause
organisation which has a stake in it to devastating damage to the country
follow these guidelines to make their impacting our national security.
infrastructure safe and secure against
INDIA’S CYBER SECURITY POLICY
cyberattacks. All stakeholders therefore
Lets us have a detailed analysis of India’s
will need to come together to respond to
cyber defense framework.
the threats and challenges posed by non-
1. Legal Framework
state actors in cyberspace.
2. National Cyber Security Policy-2013
 To handle this threat, the best method
3. Compliance and Assurance
would be perhaps to create an
4. Cyber Security R&D Security
environment where cyberattacks cannot
5. Incident – Early Warning and Response
take place on national assets. The focus of
a. National Cyber Alert System
strengthening the cyber ecosystem is
b. CERT-In and Sectoral CERTs
towards driving fundamental change in the
c. Information Exchange with
International CERTs
nd
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6. Security training by electronic means of communication and
7. Collaboration International National the same shall have legal validity and

INDIA’S LEGAL FRAMEWORK enforceability.

Some highlights of the Act are listed

 Here we shall focus upon “The Information
below:
Technology (IT) Act 2000” and later
 The Act specifically stipulates that any
amendment in 2008 to define Data
subscriber may authenticate an electronic
Protection & Cyber crimes.
record by affixing his digital signature. It
further states that any person can verify an
 In May 2000, both the houses of the Indian
electronic record by use of a public key of
Parliament passed the Information
the subscriber.
Technology Bill. The Bill received the
assent of the President in August 2000 and
 The Act also details about Electronic
came to be known as the Information
Governance and provides inter alia
Technology Act, 2000. Cyber laws are
amongst others that where any law
contained in the IT Act, 2000.
provides that information or any other

 This Act aims to provide the legal matter shall be in writing or in the

infrastructure for e-commerce in India. typewritten or printed form, then,

And the cyber laws have a major impact notwithstanding anything contained in

for e-businesses and the new economy in such law, such requirement shall be

India. So, it is important to understand deemed to have been satisfied if such

what are the various perspectives of the IT information or matter is - rendered or

Act, 2000 and what it offers. made available in an electronic form; and
accessible so as to be usable for a
 The Information Technology Act, 2000 also subsequent reference.
aims to provide for the legal framework so
that legal sanctity is accorded to all  It gives a scheme for Regulation of

electronic records and other activities Certifying Authorities. The Act envisages a

carried out by electronic means. The Act Controller of Certifying Authorities who

states that unless otherwise agreed, an shall perform the function of exercising

acceptance of contract may be expressed supervision over the activities of the

Certifying Authorities as also laying down
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standards and conditions governing the The said Adjudicating Officer has been
Certifying Authorities as also specifying the given the powers of a Civil Court.
various forms and content of Digital
Signature Certificates.  It also talks of the establishment of the
Cyber Regulations Appellate Tribunal,
 The Act recognizes the need for which shall be an appellate body where
recognizing foreign Certifying Authorities appeals against the orders passed by the
and it further details the various provisions Adjudicating Officers, shall be preferred.
for the issue of license to issue Digital
Signature Certificates.  The Act talks about various offences and
the said offences shall be investigated only
 It details about the scheme of things by a Police Officer not below the rank of
relating to Digital Signature Certificates. the Deputy Superintendent of Police.
The duties of subscribers are also These offences include tampering with
enshrined in the said Act. computer source documents, publishing of
information, which is obscene in electronic
 The said Act talks about penalties and form, and hacking.
adjudication for various offences. The
penalties for damage to computer,  The Act also provides for constitution of
computer systems etc. has been fixed as the Cyber Regulations Advisory
damages by way of compensation not Committee, which shall advice government
exceeding Rs. 1,00,00,000 to affected as regards any rules, or for any other
persons. purpose connected with the said act.

 The Act talks of appointment of any  The said Act also proposes to amend the
officers not below the rank of a Director to Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Indian
the Government of India or an equivalent Evidence Act, 1872, The Bankers' Books
officer of state government as an Evidence Act, 1891, The Reserve Bank of
Adjudicating Officer who shall adjudicate India Act, 1934 to make them in tune with
whether any person has made a the provisions of the IT Act.
contravention of any of the provisions of
the said Act or rules framed there under.

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UPCOMING MODULES
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Advantages of Cyber Laws communication in our country that can be
duly produced and approved in a court of
 The IT Act 2000 attempts to change law.
outdated laws and provides ways to deal  Companies shall now be able to carry out
with cyber crimes. We need such laws so electronic commerce using the legal
that people can perform purchase infrastructure provided by the Act.
transactions over the Net through credit
cards without fear of misuse.  Digital signatures have been given legal
validity and sanction in the Act.
 The Act offers the much-needed legal
framework so that information is not  The Act throws open the doors for the
denied legal effect, validity or entry of corporate companies in the
enforceability, solely on the ground that it business of being Certifying Authorities for
is in the form of electronic records. issuing Digital Signatures Certificates.

 In view of the growth in transactions and  The Act now allows Government to issue
communications carried out through notification on the web thus heralding e-
electronic records, the Act seeks to governance.
empower government departments to  The Act enables the companies to file any
accept filing, creating and retention of form, application or any other document
official documents in the digital format. with any office, authority, body or agency
 The Act has also proposed a legal owned or controlled by the appropriate
framework for the authentication and Government in electronic form by means
origin of electronic records / of such electronic form as may be
communications through digital signature. prescribed by the appropriate
Government.
 From the perspective of e-commerce in  The IT Act also addresses the important
India, the IT Act 2000 and its provisions issues of security, which are so critical to
contain many positive aspects. Firstly, the the success of electronic transactions. The
implications of these provisions for the e- Act has given a legal definition to the
businesses would be that email would now concept of secure digital signatures that
be a valid and legal form of would be required to have been passed
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through a system of a security procedure, adoption of IT in all sectors of the
as stipulated by the Government at a later economy.
date. 2. To create an assurance framework for
 Under the IT Act, 2000, it shall now be design of security policies and for
possible for corporates to have a statutory promotion and enabling actions for
remedy in case if anyone breaks into their compliance to global security standards
computer systems or network and causes and best practices by way of conformity
damages or copies data. The remedy assessment (product, process, technology
provided by the Act is in the form of & people).
monetary damages, not exceeding Rs. 1 3. To strengthen the Regulatory framework
crore. for ensuring a Secure Cyberspace
ecosystem.
NATIONAL CYBER SECURITY 4. To enhance and create National and
POLICY 2013 Sectoral level 24 x 7 mechanisms for
Vision: To build a secure and resilient obtaining strategic information regarding

cyberspace for citizens, businesses and threats to ICT infrastructure, creating

Government scenarios for response, resolution and

crisis management through effective
Mission: To protect information and
predictive, preventive, protective,
information infrastructure in cyberspace, build
response and recovery actions.
capabilities to prevent and respond to cyber
threats, reduce vulnerabilities and minimize
5. To enhance the protection and resilience
damage from cyber incidents through a
of Nation’s critical information
combination of institutional structures,
infrastructure by operating a 24x7 National
people, processes, technology and
Critical Information Infrastructure
cooperation.
Protection Centre (NCIIPC) and mandating
security practices related to the design,
Objectives
acquisition, development, use and
1. To create a secure cyber ecosystem in the
operation of information resources.
country, generate adequate trust &
confidence in IT systems and transactions
6. To develop suitable indigenous security
in cyberspace and thereby enhance
technologies through frontier technology
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research, solution oriented research, proof 12. To create a culture of cyber security and
of concept, pilot development, transition, privacy enabling responsible user
diffusion and commercialisation leading to behaviour & actions through an effective
widespread deployment of secure ICT communication and promotion strategy.
products / processes in general and
specifically for addressing National 13. To develop effective public private
Security requirements. partnerships and collaborative
engagements through technical and
7. To improve visibility of the integrity of ICT operational cooperation and contribution
products and services by establishing for enhancing the security of cyberspace.
infrastructure for testing & validation of
security of such products. Page 4 of 9 14. To enhance global cooperation by
promoting shared understanding and
8. To create a workforce of 500,000 leveraging relationships for furthering the
professionals skilled in cyber security in cause of security of cyberspace.
the next 5 years through capacity building,
skill development and training.
SHORTCOMINGS
 India is not at all cyber prepared despite
9. To provide fiscal benefits to businesses for the contrary claims and declared
adoption of standard security practices achievements and the cyber security policy
and processes. is just another policy document with no
10. To enable protection of information while actual implementation and impact. The
in process, handling, storage & transit so cyber security challenges in India would
as to safeguard privacy of citizen's data increase further and immediate action is
and for reducing economic losses due to required in this regard.
cyber crime or data theft. 1. The National Cyber Security Policy 2013
11. To enable effective prevention, has failed to address numerous issues
investigation and prosecution of cyber as per various research and analysis.
crime and enhancement of law Some of these issues are:
enforcement capabilities through 2. The declared cyber security policy has
appropriate legislative intervention. proved to be a paper work alone with
no actual implementation till date.

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3. Indian cyber security policy has failed to incidents. It has been issuing regular alerts on
protect civil liberties of Indians including cyber security threats and advises
privacy rights. countermeasures to prevent attacks. CERT-In
4. Indian government has blatantly has established linkages with international
ignored civil liberties protection in CERTs and security agencies to facilitate
cyberspace and e-surveillance projects exchange of information on latest cyber
have been kept intact by the successive security threats and international best
government. practices. CERT-In, in collaboration with CII,
5. The offensive and defensive cyber NASSCOM and Microsoft, has created a portal
security capabilities of India are still to educate consumers on cyber security
missing. issues.
6. India is considered to be a sitting duck
in cyberspace and cyber security field
Cyber Security R&D
and the proposed cyber security policy A number of R&D projects have been
has failed to change this position. supported at premier academic and R&D
7. Over regulation, ICT Supply Chain risks, institutions in the identified Thrust Areas, viz.,
absence of adequate testing facilities of
a. Cryptography and cryptanalysis
electronic equipment, lack
b. Steganography
of stress upon international
c. Network & systems security assurance
cooperation, etc. are some other
d. Network Monitoring
concerns that have been raised by the
e. Cyber Forensics
Data Security Council of India.
f. Capacity Development in the area of cyber
8. The NCSP’s poor drafting and
security.
meaningless provisions do not advance
the field. A host of Cyber Forensic tools have been
developed in the country.
Security Incident – Early Warning
and Response
Capacity Development/Training
A Computer Emergency Response Team –India
Training Centres have been set up at CBI,
(CERT-In) has been set up and is operational as
Ghaziabad and Kerala Police to facilitate
the national agency for cyber incidents. It
advanced training in cyber crime investigation.
operates a 24x7 Incident Response Help Desk
Computer forensic labs and training facilities
to help users in responding to cyber security
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are being set up in J&K state, North Eastern CERT-Mauritius. India is participating in
states. Forensic Centres have been set up with Internet traffic scanning in Asia-pacific
the help of NASSCOM at Mumbai, Bangalore, region.
Bhopal and Kolkata. Virtual training
environment based training modules have  India is a member of UN Committee of

been prepared. Training has been conducted Group of Experts as well as in the Council

for Orissa, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and of Security Cooperation in Asia-Pacific

Karnataka Judicial Officers on Cyber Crime (CSCAP) for enhancing cooperation in the

Investigation. 94 training 4 programmes have area of Cyber Security.

been conducted by CERT-In on specialized

The Ground Zero Summit
Cyber Security topics – in which 3392 people
have been trained.  The Ground Zero Summit which claims to be
the largest collaborative platform in Asia for
cyber-security was held in New Delhi in
Collaboration November 2015. The theme of the Summit
was “Digital India- Securing Digital India”
 As part of National level Cooperation,
Cyber security awareness programmes  It’s a platform to engage cyber security
experts, hackers, senior officials from the
were organised in cooperation with
government and defence establishments,
industry associations – CII, NASSCOM-DSCI. senior professionals from the industry and
policymakers.

 MoUs were signed with product and CURRENT CYBER CRIME SCENARIO
security vendors for vulnerability IN INDIA
remediation. Several activities were  In India, there has been a surge of
undertaken under International approximately 350 per cent cybercrime
Cooperation. International level Cyber cases registered under the Information
security drills were held with Asia –Pacific Technology (IT) Act, 2000 from the year of
CERTs. 2011 to 2014, as per a recent ASSOCHAM-
PwC joint study.
 Specific cyber security cooperation
agreements were signed with US, Japan
 The Indian Computer Emergency Response
and South Korea. India participated in
Team (CERT-In) has also reported a surge
cyber security drills of US (Cyber Storm III).
in the number of incidents handled by it,
CERT-In experts helped in establishment of

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with close to 50,000 security incidents in  The phenomenal growth of social media
2015. and growing inclination of Indians towards
web technologies have attracted attention
 The study highlighted that operational of cyber criminals. Most of the time users
systems are increasingly subject to ignore the vulnerability of social media
cyberattacks, as many are built around platform and cyber criminals take
legacy technologies with weaker protocols advantage of loopholes in the system to
that are inherently more vulnerable. The execute the crime. India is still far behind
continued and regular sharing of cyber in terms of awareness about security
security intelligence and insights is precaution on digital platforms.
essential to improve the resiliency of these
systems and processes from emerging  According to the report, nearly 16 percent
cyber risks. social media scams are targeted towards
 India has emerged as the top destination India. The country recorded a 156 percent
of cyber crimes worldwide. India witnessed increase in social media scams, out of
a significant increase in cyber attacks in which around 94 percent crimes spread by
2015. According to the latest report by manual sharing. The majority of these
Symantec, India has also emerged as the scams were being spread through sharing
third top destination of cyber attacks. of the posts.
However, despite of growing menace of
cyber criminals, the reporting rate of cyber  Every sixth social media scam happening

crimes is very less in the country, the worldwide impacts an Indian, the report

report highlighted. noted. The year 2015 saw plenty of

traditional scams and malware attacks
 Global endpoint security solution giant intended to gather personal information.
Symantec published Internet Security Recently, popular social networking site,
Threat Report recently. The report Facebook fell victim to Viral Video scam.
revealed shocking facts about the security Facebook users are being tricked into
landscape in the clicking a scam post that promises a
‘shocking video’ in an attempt to steal
SOCIAL MEDIA-THE GROWING
personal information.
TARGET

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 Symantec discovered more than 430  The doctrine must be accompanied by a
million new unique pieces of malware in national security strategy that spells out
2015, up 36 percent from the year before. the command and control structures for
The number of zero-day vulnerabilities meeting eventualities such as terror
discovered more than doubled to 54, a 125 strikes, so that last-minute goof-ups such
percent increase from the year before. as those that have been evident at the
Pathankot airbase are not repeated.
NATIONAL SECURITY DOCTRINE
 A country’s national security policy is  In the absence of such a clearly articulated
determined by many factors, including consensus, India’s response is qualitatively
external threats, geography, political linked to the government of the day, its
culture, military capabilities etc. A national key leaders and their personal ability, or
security doctrine helps the statesmen inability, to understand and appreciate
identify and prioritize that country’s security challenges.
geopolitical interests.
 The challenge thrown up by the terrorist
DIGITAL ARMED FORCE
attack on the Pathankot air force base is to  Digital India programme has been

evolve India’s national security doctrine to envisaged and coordinated by the

include its response to non-state actors. Department of Electronics and Information

Technology (DeitY) in collaboration with

 While carrying on diplomatic engagement various Central Ministries/Departments

with Pakistan, India needs a firm strategy and State Governments.

to deal with terrorist threats that are now

the prime challenge to the state. Political  The Prime Minister as the Chairman of

consensus must be evolved, in a publicly Monitoring Committee on Digital India,

transparent manner, to reflect the activities under the Digital India initiative is

complex challenge facing the country, being carefully monitored. All the existing

detail its thresholds, interests that would and ongoing e-Governance initiatives have

be protected at any cost and response been revamped to align them with the

calibration vis-à-vis armed aggression. principles of Digital India.

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Vision of Digital India financial inclusion, GIS based applications
etc
6. Information for All – Online hosting of
information for public.
7. Electronics Manufacturing – Target Net
Zero imports of electronics by 2020 by
improving domestic electronics
manufacturing.
8. IT for Jobs – Train people in small towns
and villages for IT based jobs.
9. Early Harvest Programmes – This
programme includes things like Wi-Fi for
all universities, Secure email within
To make this vision a reality, Digital government, standardised email design
India has been based on 9 pillars as templates, biometric attendance etc.
summarised below
1. Broadband Highways – Providing optical
fibre backbone based Broadband up to 2.5 Army and Digital India
Lakh Gram Panchayats.
The Army, since Independence, has led the
2. Universal Access to Mobile Connectivity –
national effort in a number of ways and Digital
Mobile coverage to be extended to
India is a programme where it can become a
remaining uncovered villages.
lead contributor.
3. Public Internet Access Programme –
Public access to internet to enable delivery Some examples where the Army has already

of services taken lead in building the Digital India vision

4. e-Governance: Reforming Government are as under:

through Technology – Providing  Network for Spectrum Optical Fibre

governance to the public through project is a pan India network which will

electronic means have the requisite band width for

5. e-Kranti - Electronic Delivery of Services – Broadband Highways.

This would include education, health care,  ARPAN 3.0, an automation software for
Army personnel, has been launched by

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the Defence Minister. It provides the contributory role in implementation and
Army personnel easy access to their success of the Digital India program, the
service records, such as salary, leave, Army needs to build an ecosystem which
transfer and postings. This is digital takes the programme forward.
empowerment of members of the
Army.  While it will not be feasible to raise a new
organisation to steer it forward, it is
The vision of Digital India can be the
possible to nominate an establishment as
vision for all ranks of the Army too
the nodal agency for monitoring and
Secure email within Government :
progressing implementation of the
 The process of providing government program. Actual implementation
emails has already commenced. Army can responsibility can be given to different
fast track this process to ensure that all directorates/branches/commands as per
authorised users are provided secure tasks involved.
Government email, which in turn would
become the primary mode of  It would also require the Army to co-opt

communication outside of the Army other organisations like DRDO, other

Intranet. It will enable official branches of government as required, sister

communications to move away from services (Air Force and Navy) etc to

Gmail, Yahoo Mail etc. efficiently implement this program. The

canvas of Digital India in the Army is
Standardised Government email Design:
enormous. It only requires imagination and
 As is being done by the government, Army drive to make this an enormous facilitator
will also have to design their email design for all ranks of the Army.
templates as per their requirements .While
SECURITY
such templates are already functional in
the Army intranet, templates where mail  In the overall gambit of implementing

has to be sent by internet needs to be Digital India in the Army, the biggest

worked out. concern would be security. Security is

 As brought out above, it is highly feasible something which will remain paramount to

to implement the Digital India program the Army and it is here that some

within the Army. To play a lead and a disconnect in its implementation may

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exist. In the civil arena, generally,
implementation comes first and security  The most popular activities on social media
follows based on security breaches, include maintaining one’s own virtual
security alerts etc whereas in the Army, profile on the likes of Facebook and
security precedes implementation of Twitter, posting and sharing an update as
programmes. That is the reason that world well as replying to something a friend has
over, the networks, communication posted. While college students (33%) form
systems, etc of the Army are a generation the largest demographic of active social
behind the civil industry. On the positive media users in India, working women and
side, there are a number of components of non-working women register just 7% and
the Digital India program which can be 11% respective share in that user base.
easily implemented without any major
POPULAR SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS
security issue.
IN INDIA
 Digital India is an umbrella program to
 Facebook is the most browsed social
provide efficient services to all citizens.
network on social media with a large base
Army can utilise this opportunity to make
of 100 Million users, clearly it is not fading
the program accessible to all ranks. Some
away anytime soon in India. More than
organisations within the Army are already
80% of those users access Facebook via
implementing few aspects of the Digital
their mobile phone.
India. All the Army needs to do is to also
 Total Twitter users in India are 33 Million
create an umbrella organisation to
and from this base 76% of users access it
efficiently implement this program and not
via their mobile phone.
let it remain in individual silos.
 LinkedIn has 26 Million India users, of the
SOCIAL MEDIA total 300+ Million users.
 Of the total chunk of 70 Million total users
 For many connected users in India, access
in Pinterest, 5.5 Million comprise from
to the Internet is primarily for accessing
India.
social media networks. According to a
 Instagram the usage is more dominated by
report by the Internet and Mobile
men in comparison to women; ratio being
Association of India (IAMAI), 66% of the
75/25. It shows only 1/4th of the women
180 million Internet users in urban India
population in India are on Instagram, looks
regularly access social media platforms.

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like selfies are more appreciated by men d. Social media websites usage has been
than women! growing and various institutions are using
it as a platform to communicate with the
How can social media act as threat to
people.It is also challenging the Internal
internal security?
security.
 We have already discussed about the
e. They are using it as mode of
“BLUE WHALE CHALLENGE GAME” which
communication with the agencies located
claimed hundreds of lives using social
within the country and abroad or some of
media as platform to connect to
them are engaging in running pro-
youngsters. This is just one small example
terrorists websites.
of how vulnerable the cyber social space is.

SOCIAL MEDIA’S IMPACT ON YOUNG

 Talking generally and also keeping in view GENERATION
some India specific issues related to social  We all live in an era where it is impossible
media, we face the following concerns: to imagine life without technology. Social
media influences our lives to such an
extent that the boundaries between the
a. The social media posts have been cited of real world and the virtual world are
posing the communal violence threat and completely blurred.
 According to a study, there is a connection
the picture shared on Facebook is cited as
between more time spent online and a
Muzaffarnagar rights cause.
decline in face-to-face communication
b. The mass exodus of a number of northeast with family and peers, which leads to a
Indians from many parts of India in the feeling of loneliness and depression.
aftermath of the ethnic strife in Assam,
triggered by a cyber hate campaign in  In India, 3 to 9% of teenagers meet the
2012, was a major turning point. criteria for depression at any one time, and
at the end of adolescence, as many as 20
c. Youth are lured into ideological
percent of teenagers report a lifetime
brainwashing via. facebook, twitter
prevalence of depression.
handles operated by terrorists
organizations like ISIS, Hijbul Mujahiddin,  In today’s world, parents and teachers,
Al-Quaida etc. both, need to be as tech-savvy as
adolescents so that they can be vigilant

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and carefully
lly monitor their child’s activity Also available:

on social media across all platforms.

POSITIVE ASPECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA

 Social media is a rich source of diverse and
multifaceted information.
 Social media now a days are used in
spreading awareness among people
regardingg health, education,etc.
 Numerous issues can be debated in a free
speech way.
 Government can reach the citizens and
masse fastly. Example is Twitter Samvaad,
Official pages of Ministries.
 Awareness can be generated via posts and
tweets about various schem
schemes via social
media.
 It can also help in exigencies like floods,
cyclones to track the lost.

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