This blog is written by Sunanda Shukla, a student of LLM in Lovely Professional University, Phagwara (Punjab). This blog deals with Military Actions in cyber security.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Cyber systems have the eventuality to overcome any system controlled by Software. The military’s service’s primary mission is to provide security to all citizens. In India, military technology is perfecting day by day it is a very important part of warfare. Cyber warfare may be the topmost trouble that nations have ever faced. Since we are now in the digital period, a cyber-terrorist assault is a reality. Military technology has greatly bettered our world and has put ahead the strongest nations. It’s true that every good thing comes with some drawbacks. The internet is the place where all types of data and information are available. Military service, like any other institution or business, relies on cybersecurity to keep itself safe. Today any information is available at just one click. Internet too is ornamented with flaws, which have become a hot topic of discussion plus a headache to numerous countries including our own.
For further than two decades, the Internet has played a significant role in global communication and has become increasingly integrated into the lives of people around the world. The rise in cyber attacks can make military missions more difficult as it’s becoming increasingly onerous to protect themselves. The Internet is endless in nature and easily searchable, and the privacy of people is under extreme threat issues. Cybersecurity is a set of behaviours, methods, and technologies aimed to protect systems, networks, important information, data, computers, and programmes from unwanted harm, attacks, and illegal access in order to safeguard personal data and secrets. Cybersecurity focused on detecting, defending, responding to, and preventing cyber-attacks that may harm military systems and networks, which could have negative results on military operations. The real problem concerning the information warfare concept lies in the fact that we have a set of old concepts dressed in new costumes. For the interest of the military to participate in the national effort to develop complete cyber security measures, which could include the legislation of governing policies, implementation of cyber security tools and best practices, as well as the training of excellent cyber security experts to better safeguard the organisation and user’s assets. More keeping India safe is not just an issue of more tanks, it also requires bolstering security online. Cyber threats pose danger not only to our national security and peace but also to our profitable security.
Techniques of cyber-attack and their impact on the military
Supporting the wealth of information available in cyberspace and low-cost computing devices, cyber attackers are becoming more tech-savvy and capable of launching a sophisticated incursion into the networks that control the national infrastructures. One similar intrusion is the Distributed Denial of Service that floods the systems (of the national infrastructures) with multiple requests, more than they could respond to and paralysing them consequently. Distributed Denial of Service is usually executed by ‘botnets’ comprising networks of computers that have been hijacked by remote users, often without the person’s knowledge. Once a botnet has been established, the attacker is able to direct an attack by sending remote instructions to each bot. Other than networks, software and hardware are also at risk of being tampered with even before they are linked together in an operational system. DDoS attacks target varying factors of a network connection.
‘Logic bombs’ are rogue software programming techniques that can cause sudden malfunctions when developed, while the hardware can have ‘kill switches’ and hidden ‘back doors’ written into the computer chips that allow remote access by unplanned users. Computer-induced failures of national infrastructures might bring massively profitable disturbance. The military strength of a nation eventually depends on its financial strength, so cyber vulnerabilities could destroy both the nation’s military effectiveness and its competitiveness in the global economy if the attacks are pervasive and relentless. A cyber-attack can lead to a variety of consequences, ranging from theft of personal information to extortion of money or loss of valuable data, secrets, and new techniques. The protection of these and other association is important for the maintenance of our military system, and society and for support of the relations between countries and international organizations. The impact of cyber attacks on the military system, and the exploitation of vulnerabilities in military cyber systems could result in weapons blueprints, operational schemes and surveillance data being compromised, which could seriously weaken national security. Cyber attack techniques that can infiltrate military systems can be made stealthy to ensure that rogue programmes, when introduced, remain undetected. They could set up a digital ‘beachhead’ from which these programmes operate quietly to stealthily exfiltrate sensitive military service operational schemes, and plans to unintended servers under foreign control.
Government policies and laws relating to cybercrime
The government enact policies to manage cyber security through standardising operating procedures in cyberspace so as to better protect classified networks, information and privacy which could house sensitive information and enable crucial war-fighting, counter-terrorism, law enforcement, intelligence and homeland security operations. The sharing of best practices for cyber security amongst the team members can provide operational norms to deal with cyber threats and incident responses, especially those that could cause exceptionally grave damage to national security. The developed cyber security governance and practices should be enduring against the fast-paced cyberspace, and towards building an approach to cyber defence strategy that deters interference and attack in cyberspace. The cyber defence strategy can be further enhanced by improving warning capabilities, articulating roles for the private sector and international players, and developing appropriate responses for both state and non-state actors. The Supreme Court held in R. Rajagopal v. State of Tamil Nadu that the right to privacy, or the “right to be left alone,” is protected by Article 21. The Information Technology Act, of 2000 was enacted by Parliament, It is the law that deals with cybercrime and electronic commerce in India. Section 43 of the IT Act of 2000 protects against illegal access to the computer system.
The Indian Penal Code of 1860 prescribes penalties, The Indian Evidence Act, of 1872 and Information Technology Rules in India to protect the data, and systems and provide for penalties and punishments for cyber crimes. Since the nation depends on a variety of privately owned and operated critical infrastructures to carry out the public’s businesses, the team can help define its role by advocating and extending cyber security governance and practices into the critical infrastructures domains. In the US, there is an existing and ongoing partnership between the Federal Government, the public and private sector owners and operators of Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources in addressing security and information assurance efforts across the cyberinfrastructure to increase resiliency and operational capabilities. It also includes attention to the public-private sharing of information regarding cyber threats and incidents in each government and CIKR.
Suggestions
There is a requirement for legislators to take extra precautions to keep ahead of the imposters so that they can act against them as soon as issues arise. The Information Technology Act, of 2000 must be amended and clear definitions of the terms like privacy, data privacy, must be given, so that security to private data may be provided in a more standard manner and it is urgently needed to meet the concerns of privacy and data protection of all persons involved in the military system. Since all are entirely dependent on the internet, advanced technology services military and nations want strong laws relating to cyber threats because the internet is borderless and unavoidable in our daily life and involves the world.
Conclusion
Cyber security includes protective military networks against cyber threats. Cyberspace is a network that includes innumerable computers across the world, so no state or organisation will unilaterally maintain effective cyber security. Close cooperation and timely sharing of cyber events, threat signatures of malicious code, and knowledge regarding rising actors/threats, allies and international players will improve collective cyber security standards. The military should continue to explore attainable ways to defend its networks from malicious threats, and invest in people, technologies and R&D to create and sustain the cyberspace capabilities that are vital to national cyber security.
This is essential as cyberspace may eventually be usually accepted as a military domain of conflict, and it’ll be not totally different to allocating resources to procure sophisticated weaponry and develop the people to better serve within the Services and therefore the overall Armed Forces for conventional warfare. If our nation can’t, then even with the most powerful military and defence economy in the world, we face an insurmountable threat to our future prosperity and security. Government defence systems are highly confidential and even a small amount of negligence to these data may cause great damage to the whole nation or society at large, therefore, such knowledge wants security at a really high level.
References
- Ian Wallace, The Military Role in National Cybersecurity Governance. Published at https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/the-military-role-in-national-cybersecurity-governance/amp/
- Lieutenant Colonel Samuel P. Mowery United States Marine Corps, Defining Cyber and Focusing the Military’s Role in Cyberspace. Published at https://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=815941(10 years ago)
- Brita Achberger and Max Smeets, The Opportunities and Challenges of Military Cyber Exercises, Published at https://www.cfr.org/blog/opportunities-and-challenges-of-military-cyber-exercises?amp(2022)
- ME5 Alan Ho Wei Seng, Cyber Attacks and the Roles the Military Can Play to Support the National Cyber Security Efforts.Published at https://www.mindef.gov.sg/
- Michael E. O’Hanlon, Military innovation and technological change: Preparing for the next generation of cyber threats. Published at https://www.brookings.edu/research/Military innovation and technological change: preparing- for- the- next- generation- of- cyber- threats/?amp(2022)