The concept of Information Warfare (IW) is as old as warfare itself but has gained in significance in recent times where we look at non-contact battles between two adversaries. This concept involves the use of information and communication technologies; and taking it a little further, it transforms into the use of computers and cyberspace in warfare. This book delves into this complex topic and brings out issues and facets especially pertaining to India. It emphasises that issues of National Security and Nation Building in this information age are intertwined.

… India is among the top three countries in the world after the U.S. and China when it comes to phishing and malware attacks ... While governments can’t control every aspect of cyber security, they can certainly help shape the future of cyber security based on lessons learned from other nations, threats and technologies ... all stakeholders have to their heads together, identify the vulnerabilities in the critical information infrastructure and take remedial measures in a time bound manner …

… cyber security is the single largest concern for nations and societies today as they move from agro-industrial age to the Information Age … threats are present 24/7 across the full spectrum, from: Cyber-crime to cyber espionage to cyber terrorism; social engineering; and even cyber warfare … the coming years will see more activity in the so-called ‘dark nets’ and greater use of crypto-currencies; that the ability to stage cyberattacks will continue to outpace the ability to defend against them; and that there will be more “hacking for hire” … the threat landscape must be analysed carefully …

Introduction: The Information Technology (IT) Act in India was promulgated as early as 2000. The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) was established in 2004 and continues to act. India has undertaken several steps at protection, detection and containment of these potentially disruptive attacks against the nation’s networks.