China capable of launching cyber-attacks against India, says CDS Gen Rawat
The CDS’s comments come at a time when India and China are locked in a border standoff in eastern Ladakh and efforts are underway to withdraw front-line troops and weaponry from friction points along the contested Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Chief of defence staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat on Wednesday said China was ahead of India in technology, and it was capable of launching cyber-attacks against India. He said the biggest gap between the two countries was in the cyber domain and it was being addressed in a serious manner.
“We know China is capable of launching cyber-attacks on us. And that it (China) can disrupt a large amount of our systems,” Rawat said in response to a question after delivering a talk on Shaping the Armed Forces to Meet Likely Current and Future Challenges. Vivekananda International Foundation organised the event.
Rawat said India was trying to create systems for cyber defence to deal with such attacks. He said cyber agencies in the military were working to ensure that “the downtime and the effect of a cyber-attack” did not last long.
“We should be able to overcome cyber-attacks and continue with our systems either through an alternative or preventive means through firewalls. So, while we are trying to create firewalls for cyber-attacks, yet we are quite sure they (China) will be able to break through the firewalls…But then what we are trying to do is how long will your system be down, and how will you be able to operate through that phase of cyber-attack you have been put through. That is one thing we are looking at and addressing in a serious manner,” he said.
The CDS’s comments come at a time when India and China are locked in a border standoff in eastern Ladakh and efforts are underway to withdraw front-line troops and weaponry from friction points along the contested Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Rawat said India was developing new technologies to bridge the gap with China. The CDS said closing the technology gap with the neighbour would require integration of the resources of the three services.
“The three services are at different levels as far as our technology orientation is concerned. The navy is far ahead of the army and the Indian Air Force (IAF) in the way they have imbibed technology. If you integrate, you will at least be able to catch up with them (China). We may not be able to fully catch up with China, so we are trying to develop some kind of a relationship with western nations to see how we can get better support from them during peacetime at least to see how we can overcome this deficiency,” Rawat said.
Cyber has, perhaps, come to acquire a pivotal position in any nation’s security architecture, said Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur (retd), additional director general, Centre for Air Power Studies.
“While preparing to acquire offensive capability, it is critical that one’s own systems are protected. While we may be lagging behind China, our nation does not lack cerebral capital to catch up unlike in other capital acquisitions. All efforts must be made to tap the nation’s inherent cyber know-how to protect our vital infrastructure from cyber intrusions,” Bahadur said.
Responding to a question on the challenges to theaterisation and the ongoing efforts to bring about jointness among the three services, Rawat said India as a nation believed in status quo and there was always a hesitation to change.
“Also, there is a feeling amongst the three services that army being a very large service --- compared to navy and IAF --- will possibly usurp the two entities and everything will become army-centric. I think this is a misnomer because the army, navy and IAF have their own specialties. They will retain their autonomy and integration will only ensure that we have systems that at least operate together,” Rawat said.
On women in the armed forces, the CDS said the services were opening more roles to them and there were some areas where they were performing better than men and vice-versa. He said the armed forces were looking at exploiting the capabilities of both men and women and ensuring they were utilised in roles they were best suited for.
“There are some tasks that are better performed by women. For example, when we look at cyber, artificial intelligence, quantum computing --- areas where you need concentration and the ability to sit long hours on the desk --- we have found that the women workforce is better capable than the men folk. So somewhere the women have shown better capability and there are some areas where men have better capability,” Rawat said.
One of the turning points for women in the military came in 2015 when IAF decided to induct them into the fighter stream. Tanks and combat positions in infantry are still no-go zones for women, who were allowed to join the armed forces outside the medical stream for the first time in 1992.
This year, the navy deployed four women officers on warships after a hiatus of almost 25 years. The army has decided to allow them to fly helicopters this year onwards.
