CYBER SECURITY

REFERENCE NEWS

Resecurity, an American cyber security company, said that personally identifiable information of 815 million Indian citizens, including Aadhaar numbers and passport details, were being sold on the dark web.

WHAT IS CYBER SECURITY?

• Cyber security involves the techniques of protecting computers, networks, programs and data from unauthorized access or attacks that are aimed for exploitation.
• The concept includes guidelines, policies, safeguards, technologies, tools and training to provide the best protection for the cyber environment and its users.
• 

 

CYBER ATTACKS:

• Cyber-attack can be defined as any act that compromises the security expectations of an individual, organization, or nation in its cyber space.
• Based on perpetrators and their motives, Cyber threats can be categorized into:

Cyber Espionage:	Refers to the use of computer networks to gain illicit access to confidential information, typically that held by a government or other organization. Ex: The 2019 cyber-attack on Kudankulam nuclear power plant.
Cyber Crime:	Cybercrime is any criminal activity that involves a computer, networked device or a network.They are carried out to generate profit. Ex: Cosmos Cooperative Bank,Pune ATM Fraud of 2018
Cyber Terrorism	It refers to unlawful attacks and threats of attacks against computers, networks and information stored to intimidate or coerce a government or its people in furtherance of political or social objectives.
Cyber Warfare	It may be defined as actions by a nation-state or its proxies to penetrate another nation’s computers or networks for the purposes of espionage, causing damage or disruption. It is perceived to be the fifth domain of warfare

METHODS OF CYBER-ATTACKS

 

STATISTICS

Crime in India report,2021 (NCRB)	Cybercrimes recorded an increase of 11.8% in 2020 Cybercrimes have increased four times or 306 percent in the past four years and rate of cybercrime (incidents per lakh population) increased in 2020.
CERT-In	1.16 million cases of cyberattacks were reported in 2020, up nearly three times from 2019 and more than 20 times compared to 2016. Over 26,100 Indian websites were hacked during 2020

 

RECENT EXAMPLES

AIIMS, 2023: The systems at AIIMS and its centers were corrupted by the cyberattack, which wiped outpatient and research data from its primary and backup servers.

Attack on Air India (2021): India's national airline suffered a cyber-attack on its data servers, which affected about 4.5 million customers around the world.

Aadhaar data leak (2019): As recently as February 2019, Aadhaar details of over 6.7 Million users containing details such as names, addresses and the numbers were leaked.

SIGNIFICANCE OF CYBER SECURITY:

Increasing internet use in India:

• With over 600 million internet users, India is the second largest online market in the world which demands increased focus security in internet spaces

Increasing digitisation in India

• Digital India initiatives, Land records digitization, Increasing cashless economy etc. puts further pressure on the need for a secure cyber architecture in the country.

Constitutional obligations:

• After K.S. Puttaswamy verdict of Supreme Court, the state is obliged to secure right to privacy of its citizens for which cyber security is an essential component.

Increased instances of cyber-crimes:

• As per Data Security Council of India report India is second most cyber-attack affected country between 2016-18.

Critical Infrastructure:

• Safety and security of critical infrastructure such as Aadhar, NATGRID, Health Stack, Nuclear plants etc. are heavily depend upon secure cyber architecture.

Cost incurred due to cyber-attacks are increasing:

• India has lost a huge amount of money each year in cyber-attacks. For instance, cybercrimes in India caused losses of Rs. 1.25 lakh crore in 2019.

GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES

 

CHALLENGES TO CYBERSECURITY

Lack of awareness:

• Ex: Almost 80% of cybercrime frauds occur due to lack of cyber knowledge.

Weak digital security:

• Out-dated infrastructure with poor or inadequate cyber security protection has exposed India’s digital vulnerability.
• Ex: Aadhaar data leakage, Leak of data about scorpene class submarine

Issues with India's cyber security institutions:

• Multiple organizations and overlapping responsibilities - India has 36 different central bodies that deal with cyber issues
• Lack of clear institutional boundaries and accountability, limited inter-agency coordination,lack of collaboration between and public and private players:

Lack of resources:

• For instance, like Israel’s National Cyber Directorate, India doesn’t have any active mechanism for cyber defence.
• It has been estimated that as of 2020-end, India faced a shortage of 1.5 million cyber security professionals.

Regulatory mechanism not equipped:

• IT Act, 2000, is not equipped to consider new-age changes in the mode of functioning of businesses and modus operandi of crimes in cyber space.

External attacks:

• Shadow Network: It is a China-based computer espionage operation that stole classified documents and emails from the Indian government, the office of the Dalai Lama, and other high-level government networks

Obsolete systems:

• India is a major destination for cheap electronic imports with inadequate security features.Also, there is rampant use of unlicensed software and cracked licenses.

Offshore servers:

• Most service providers in India use data servers and processing centers located beyond the geographical boundary of India which has proved to be a major hindrance in investigating cybercrimes 

Under reporting:

• As per NCRB, Cybercrimes accounted for less than a percentage (0.43%) or 21,796 cases of a total of 50,07,044 cognizable crimes in 2017. This indicates a severe case of under reporting of cybercrimes.

Jurisdictional Uncertainty:

• Cybercrimes cut across territorial borders which undermine the feasibility and legitimacy of applying domestic laws.

Reliance on Chinese equipment in telecom sector:

• Ex: 30% of Bharti Airtel’s network comprises Chinese telecom equipment and it is 40% for Vodafone Idea’s network.

WAY FORWARD

CASE STUDY: KERALA’S CYBERDOME PROJECT

Cyberdome is the Kerala Police Department’s premier facility which involves a team of ethical hackers, expert coders, youth prodigies skilled in software, law enforcers and civilian volunteers.

Establish a Central Cybersecurity Agency: Create a single, authoritative national body for cybersecurity to streamline and coordinate national defense efforts.

Update Legal Frameworks: Reform the IT Act, 2000, to cover modern cyber threats, including issues related to cryptocurrencies and IoT.

Enhance Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs): Foster closer cooperation between government and the private sector to enhance cybersecurity infrastructure and intelligence sharing.

Invest in Cybersecurity Education and Workforce Development: Integrate cybersecurity into academic curricula and professional training to address the skills gap.

Implement Cybersecurity Awareness Campaigns: Conduct nationwide programs to educate the public on cyber threats and safe digital practices.

Addressing India's cybersecurity challenges requires a multifaceted and dynamic approach, adapting to technological advances and evolving threats in the digital landscape.

PRACTICE QUESTION

Q: Elaborate on the challenges faced by India’s cybersecurity system? (10M,150W)