Cyber Threat To India

Gear up to fight cyber war

ASHOK B SHARMA

India is gearing up to face cyber threats to its national security. The Indian Defence Minister AK Antony has called upon the Armed Forces to be vigilant against emerging cyber threats.  Addressing the centenary celebrations of the Corps of Signals here on Thursday he called upon the Armed Forces to keep abreast of latest technologies.  Terming the Corps of Signals as the “21^st Century Arm of Our Forces”, Antony said it has a major role in promoting inter-service synergy and joint operations.

“The Corps is at the forefront of transforming the Indian Army to a network-centric force.  It must continuously enhance its ability to absorb latest technologies in collaboration with the Industry and R&D establishment. The Corps has done commendable work, be it in fielding futuristic strategic defence communication networks, or development of state-of-the-art tactical communication systems.” 

Speaking on the occasion the Minister of State for Defence MM Pallam Raju said that besides being vital to the Armed Forces, telecommunication and cyber infrastructure is a national and strategic asset as various other key sectors such as the Railways, Airlines, Banks and Industry depend on it. He said that ICT will be a key factor in reshaping the methodology of war fighting in the future.  

“Any serious disruption can jeopardize our functioning including our responses to the war being raised by our adversaries. The ramification of cyber attacks launched by an unknown adversary or individual has necessitated a relook at the planning and security of Command and Control infrastructure at the highest levels of national governance,” Raju said.

 Underlining that the modern warfare has undergone a paradigm shift, the Chief of Army Staff General VK Singh said that the Corps of Signals has emerged as the proverbial “nervous system” of the Armed Forces in contemporary times.  

“In all future wars, information superiority will be one of the key battle winning factors and future battlefield milieu would require communication system that are secure, responsive and reliable,”  said General Singh.