NEW DELHI: The armed forces have formulated a new joint doctrine for cyberspace operations, which have become critical in modern-day warfare especially in the backdrop of China developing potent cyber-warfare and cyber-espionage capabilities.
The doctrine, which was released by chief of defence staff General Anil Chauhan in the presence of the three Service chiefs on Tuesday, is a “keystone publication” that will guide commanders in planning and conducting cyberspace operations in the current complex military operating environment, an officer said.
China has built major capabilities in the cyberwarfare domain, including cyberweapons to degrade or destroy an adversary’s military assets and strategic networks as well as energy, banking, transport and communication grids even before the actual kinetic war kicks off, as reported by TOI earlier.
India has been lagging far behind in this arena, with the government in 2019 only approving the creation of only a small tri-service defence cyber agency instead of the full-fledged Cyber Command that the armed forces wanted.
The officer said the new joint doctrine is “a significant step” to give impetus to the ongoing process of integration being actively pursued by the Army, IAF and Navy. “In addition to the traditional domains of land, sea and air, cyberspace has emerged as a crucial and challenging domain in modern warfare. Hostile actions in cyberspace can impact the nation’s economy, cohesion, political decision-making, and the country’s ability to defend itself,” he said.
“Operations in cyberspace need to be dovetailed into the national security fabric, to evolve the ‘Ends,’ ‘Ways’ and ‘Means’ to create advantage and influence events in all other operational environments and across all instruments of power,” he added.
The doctrine comes at a time when the Army is also operationalizing dedicated specialized units in each of its six operational or regional commands across the country to handle the cyberspace domain.
The Army says these Command Cyber Operations and Support Wings (CCOSWs) will help to safeguard its networks and increase the preparedness levels in this dimension of warfare. “It will lead to an overall strengthening of the Army’s cyber-security posture for both conventional operations as well as grey zone warfare,” an officer said.
The doctrine, which was released by chief of defence staff General Anil Chauhan in the presence of the three Service chiefs on Tuesday, is a “keystone publication” that will guide commanders in planning and conducting cyberspace operations in the current complex military operating environment, an officer said.
China has built major capabilities in the cyberwarfare domain, including cyberweapons to degrade or destroy an adversary’s military assets and strategic networks as well as energy, banking, transport and communication grids even before the actual kinetic war kicks off, as reported by TOI earlier.
India has been lagging far behind in this arena, with the government in 2019 only approving the creation of only a small tri-service defence cyber agency instead of the full-fledged Cyber Command that the armed forces wanted.
The officer said the new joint doctrine is “a significant step” to give impetus to the ongoing process of integration being actively pursued by the Army, IAF and Navy. “In addition to the traditional domains of land, sea and air, cyberspace has emerged as a crucial and challenging domain in modern warfare. Hostile actions in cyberspace can impact the nation’s economy, cohesion, political decision-making, and the country’s ability to defend itself,” he said.
“Operations in cyberspace need to be dovetailed into the national security fabric, to evolve the ‘Ends,’ ‘Ways’ and ‘Means’ to create advantage and influence events in all other operational environments and across all instruments of power,” he added.
The doctrine comes at a time when the Army is also operationalizing dedicated specialized units in each of its six operational or regional commands across the country to handle the cyberspace domain.
The Army says these Command Cyber Operations and Support Wings (CCOSWs) will help to safeguard its networks and increase the preparedness levels in this dimension of warfare. “It will lead to an overall strengthening of the Army’s cyber-security posture for both conventional operations as well as grey zone warfare,” an officer said.