ISSUE BRIEF
No. 222
Centre for land warfare studies
April 2020
Major General PK Mallick, VSM (Retd), is an Electronics
and Telecommunicaon Engineering graduate from BE
College, Shibpore. He was commissioned in the Corps
of Signals. M Tech from IIT, Kharagpur and alumni of
DSSC, CDM and NDC, the ocer has wide experience in
CI Ops, command, sta and instruconal appointments.
He rered from the Naonal Defence College as a
Senior Direcng Sta (Army). The ocer has interest in
Electronic Warfare, Cyber Warfare and Technology. He has published a large
number of papers in reputed journals. He runs a popular blog on naonal
security issues. Currently, he holds the COAS Chair of Excellence at CLAWS.
India’s National Cyber
Security Strategy: How
to Go About It
e exponential growth and rapid adoption of information
and communication technologies (ICT) with its associated
economic and social opportunities have beneted billions
of people around the world. e Internet has become
the backbone of modern businesses, critical services and
infrastructure, social networks and the global economy.
e condentiality, integrity and availability of ICT
infrastructure are challenged by cyber threats including
electronic fraud, the of intellectual property and personal
identiable information, disruption of service and damage
or destruction of property. Cyber security is a foundational
element for achievement of socio-economic objectives of
modern economies. It encompasses governance policy,
operational, technical and legal aspects.
A National Cyber Security Strategy (NCSS) is a plan of action
designed to improve the security and resilience of national
infrastructures and services. It is a top-down approach to
cyber security that creates a range of national objectives and
priorities that should be achieved in a specic time frame.
By developing and implementing a National Cyber Security
Strategy, a nation can improve the security of its digital
infrastructure and ultimately contribute to its broader socio-
economic aspirations. e government has a major role and
responsibility in cyber security arena. About 76 countries
have already published their national cyber security strategy
outlining key steps that are intended to increase their national
security and resilience.
1
e Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS), New Delhi, is an independent think-tank dealing with national security and
conceptual aspects of land warfare, including conventional and sub-conventional conict and terrorism. CLAWS conducts
research that is futuristic in outlook and policy-oriented in approach.
CLAWS Vision: To establish as a leading Centre of Excellence, Research and Studies on Military Strategy & Doctrine, Land
Warfare, Regional & National Security, Military Technology and Human Resource.
Website: www.claws.in Contact us: landwarfare@gmail.com
Key Points
• e National Cyber Security Policy (NCSP) was
published in 2013 by the Ministry of Communication
and Information Technology. An initiative has been
taken to publish the National Cyber Security Strategy
of India—2020 under the aegis of the National Security
Council Secretariat.
• National Cyber Security Strategy development process
should translate the government’s vision into coherent
and implementable policies that will help it achieve its
objectives.
• Nation states all over the world have published their
National Cyber Security Strategy. ey need to be
perused before nalising India’s National Cyber Security
Strategy.
• India’s stance on oensive cyber operations may be
included and publication of the National Cyber Strategy
may also be considered.
