India must adopt an offensive approach to counter cyber threats: report

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India is facing a growing threat to its national security from adversaries resorting to a new kind of cyber warfare and therefore an offensive approach involving ‘super cyber power’ and ‘surgical strikes’ is required, a non-governmental organization report said. Prahar.

The report, titled The invisible hand, predicted that cyber attacks on India, if left unchecked, are likely to rise to a trillion per year by 2033, and to 17 trillion by 2047.

The report stated that cyberspace is the new battlefield and suggested that India should go on the offensive. “Other interventions include advanced technical infrastructure, skills enhancement, whitelisting of digital apps and platforms and training citizens. Until India creates a holistic cyber policy and implementation strategy, restricting identifiable legitimate platforms could push citizens into the hands of dark web operators,” the report said.

The report notes that the country experienced more than 79 million cyber attacks in 2023, ranking it third globally in the number of such incidents. In the first quarter of 2024, reports indicated a sharp increase in cyber attacks, with more than 500 million incidents blocked in just three months. In the first four months, Indians lost over ₹1,750 crore to cybercriminals, reported through over 7,40,000 complaints on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal, the report said.

In a press release from Prahar, retired Secretary General Bhargav Mitra was quoted as saying: “The events in Bangladesh are a stark reminder of the challenges that a determined and devious adversary can pose to India’s national security. It seems that Bangladesh was probably the last link in the proverbial chain that encircled India and kept it connected to the South Asian region.”

Abhay Mishra, National Chairman and Chairman of Prahar, mentioned two types of cyber attacks: one involving traditional hackers who exploit vulnerabilities in systems for financial gain or disruption, and another insidious attack that targets citizens and recruits them to participate in anti-national activities through manipulation and coercion. , or threats.

Anuj Agarwal, Member of the Supreme Court Bar Association and Chairman of the Center for Research on Cybercrime and Cyber ​​Law, said: “Restricting legal domestic online platforms with outright bans or unwarranted restrictions only pushes users deeper into the shadows, where they are more vulnerable to exploitation by the offshore platforms…we need to reinvigorate community governance to address many of these issues…informed users are power users.”

Retired Indian Police Officer Muktesh Chander, a Ph.D. in Cyber ​​Security from IIT Delhi, added: “Cyberspace is also a domain of warfare – the fifth domain. A situation has arisen where not only individual hackers or disgruntled people, but also state-sponsored actors and states themselves are engaged in activities that sabotage important parameters of the economy. We have seen this in Estonia and in several conflicts between different countries. The latest example is the cyberwar we have seen between Ukraine and Russia. We have been watching this for a long time,” he says.

“The report also provided a path forward to address this new cyber threat – to secure its position as a global cyber power, India must develop a flexible, comprehensive cybersecurity framework that combines defensive measures with offensive capabilities. Engaging communities, updating legal frameworks and promoting a resilient cyber workforce are essential steps,” Prahar said in his press release.