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Bhairavi Gauatam
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Asked: 2024-07-19T18:02:16+05:30 In: , ,

State the reasons behind targeting of Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) by state and non-state actors. Also, discuss the steps taken by the Indian government to secure its CII.

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Describe the motivations behind state and non-state actors’ targeting of the Critical Information Infrastructure (CII). Talk about the measures the Indian government took to protect their CII as well.

upsc: it & computers

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6 Answers

  1. Ashish Kumar
    Begginer

    State and non-state actors target Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) due to several reasons. Firstly, CII forms the backbone of a nation’s functioning, including sectors like energy, telecommunications, finance, and healthcare, making it a prime target for disrupting essential services and causing economic damage. Secondly, CII holds sensitive information vital for national security, making it a target for espionage and strategic advantage. Thirdly, attacks on CII can create chaos, undermine public trust, and influence political decisions, serving as a tool for coercion or destabilization.

    In India, the government has taken significant steps to secure its CII. Initiatives include the establishment of the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) in 2014, responsible for protecting CII against cyber threats. The NCIIPC conducts risk assessments, develops guidelines and standards, and coordinates incident response efforts across sectors. Additionally, India has strengthened cybersecurity laws and regulations to enforce compliance and ensure prompt reporting of cyber incidents. Collaborative efforts with industry stakeholders and international partners further enhance cybersecurity resilience, aiming to safeguard India’s critical infrastructure from evolving cyber threats.

  2. Ashish Kumar
    Begginer

    State and non-state actors target Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) due to several reasons. Firstly, CII forms the backbone of a nation’s functioning, including sectors like energy, telecommunications, finance, and healthcare, making it a prime target for disrupting essential services and causing economic damage. Secondly, CII holds sensitive information vital for national security, making it a target for espionage and strategic advantage. Thirdly, attacks on CII can create chaos, undermine public trust, and influence political decisions, serving as a tool for coercion or destabilization.

    In India, the government has taken significant steps to secure its CII. Initiatives include the establishment of the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) in 2014, responsible for protecting CII against cyber threats. The NCIIPC conducts risk assessments, develops guidelines and standards, and coordinates incident response efforts across sectors. Additionally, India has strengthened cybersecurity laws and regulations to enforce compliance and ensure prompt reporting of cyber incidents. Collaborative efforts with industry stakeholders and international partners further enhance cybersecurity resilience, aiming to safeguard India’s critical infrastructure from evolving cyber threats.

  3. MAHESWARI SUBRAMANIAN
    Begginer

    Structure:

    1. Reasons Behind Targeting CII
      • Motivations: Explain why state and non-state actors might target CII, such as for espionage, disruption, or economic gain.
      • Examples: Provide specific examples or types of attacks.
    2. Steps Taken by the Indian Government
      • Legislation: Mention relevant laws and regulations.
      • Security Measures: Describe key initiatives, agencies, and strategies implemented to safeguard CII.
      • Collaborations: Note any partnerships with international organizations or private sector entities.

    Example Answer:

    Reasons Behind Targeting CII: “State and non-state actors target Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) to achieve various objectives, such as conducting espionage, disrupting essential services, or causing economic harm. For instance, attacks on financial institutions can disrupt economic stability, while cyber-attacks on power grids can create widespread chaos. These attacks aim to exploit vulnerabilities in critical systems that are crucial for national security and economic stability.”

    Steps Taken by the Indian Government: “The Indian government has implemented several measures to secure its CII. This includes the establishment of the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC), which focuses on identifying and mitigating threats to critical infrastructure. Additionally, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) plays a key role in responding to cyber incidents. Legislation such as the Information Technology Act and various cybersecurity policies also provide a framework for protecting CII. Furthermore, India collaborates with international bodies and private sector experts to enhance its cybersecurity posture and stay ahead of emerging threats.”

    This approach provides a clear and comprehensive answer, addressing both the motivations for targeting CII and the steps taken by the Indian government to protect it.

  4. Google User
    Begginer

    Reasons for Targeting CII:

    1. Disruption of Essential Services: Attacks on CII can disrupt vital services like electricity, water supply, transportation, and communications, causing widespread chaos and economic damage.
    2. Intelligence Gathering: By infiltrating CII, attackers can gather sensitive information on national security, military operations, and governmental functions.
    3. Economic Sabotage: Disrupting financial institutions and industrial control systems can lead to significant economic losses and weaken a nation’s economic stability.
    4. Psychological Impact: Successful attacks on CII can instill fear and uncertainty among the populace, undermining public confidence in governmental and institutional stability.

    Steps Taken by the Indian Government to Secure Its CII:

    1. National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC): Established under the Information Technology Act, NCIIPC is the national nodal agency responsible for securing India’s CII. It identifies and mitigates risks through proactive measures and real-time monitoring.
    2. Information Technology Act, 2000: Amended to include specific provisions for the protection of CII, outlining responsibilities and penalties for non-compliance.
    3. Cybersecurity Policies and Frameworks: Implementation of the National Cyber Security Policy, which provides a framework for securing cyberspace, including CII. It emphasizes public-private partnerships, capacity building, and research and development.
    4. CERT-In (Indian Computer Emergency Response Team): Works closely with NCIIPC to respond to cybersecurity incidents, including those targeting CII. CERT-In provides alerts, advisories, and guidance to organizations managing CII.

    CODE EXAMPLE OF A SECURITY MEASURE:

    # Example of a YAML configuration for securing a web server in a CII environment
server:
listen: 443 ssl;
server_name: example_cii.gov.in;

ssl_certificate: /etc/ssl/certs/example_cii.crt;
ssl_certificate_key: /etc/ssl/private/example_cii.key;

location / {
proxy_pass http://backend_server;
proxy_set_header Host $host;
proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
}

# Security headers
add_header Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains" always;
add_header X-Content-Type-Options nosniff;
add_header X-Frame-Options DENY;
add_header X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block";

     

  5. Shreya Chadha
    Begginer

    Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) is targeted by state and non-state actors for several reasons:

    1. Disruption of Services: Attacking CII, like power grids and financial systems, can cause widespread chaos and economic damage.
    2. Espionage: State actors target CII to gather intelligence and sensitive information.
    3. Cyber Warfare: Disrupting CII can weaken a nation’s security and defense capabilities.
    4. Political Motives: Terrorist groups may target CII to advance political agendas or create fear.
    5. Economic Gain: Cybercriminals exploit vulnerabilities in CII for financial gain through ransomware or data theft.

    Steps Taken by the Indian Government to Secure Its CII

    1. National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC): Established under the National Technical Research Organization (NTRO), NCIIPC is responsible for protecting CII against cyber threats.
    2. Cyber Security Policies: Implementation of the National Cyber Security Policy of 2013 and other guidelines to safeguard CII.
    3. CERT-In: The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) enhances IT infrastructure security and coordinates responses to cybersecurity incidents.
    4. Public-Private Collaboration: The government works with private entities to strengthen CII security through information sharing and joint initiatives.
    5. Capacity Building: Regular training, awareness campaigns, and skill development programs to build a robust cybersecurity workforce.
  6. Santosh Singh
    Learner

    According to Information Technology Act, 2000, Critical Information Infrastructures (CII) are vital computer resources that, if incapacitated or destroyed, will leave a debilitating impact on national security, economy, public health or safety across both public and private sectors. Their significance is well understood and hence they are also target of attacks by adversarial state and non-state actors. Broadly such attacks lead to information system compromise, control takeover, component destruction, and sensitive information extraction.

    Reasons behind targeting of Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) by state and non-state actors

    • Critical information: CII holds sensitive and confidential information about nuclear facilities, reactor designs etc, making it a potential target for state and non-state actors. For instance, the Stuxnet computer virus was unleashed against Iran’s enrichment program.
    • New dimension to warfare: CII broadens the scope for combat, taking it a step ahead of conventional warfare. Additionally, disabling these systems takes a handful of skilled personnel compared to dedicated weapons systems or armies in conventional wars.
    • National security: CII deals with physical and cyber systems that are essential to a nation in their capabilities to govern the broader security scenario and any damage to it has a devastating effect on national security, political, economic and social welfare domains of the nation.
    • Sabotaging state apparatus: Critical infrastructure like power grid, reactors etc are far more interconnected today, both in terms of geography and across sectors. A small malfunction may spread across different segments, having a wide-ranging impact, which may or may not have been assessed.
    • Create Mistrust: A cyber-attack on a specific component exposes vulnerabilities in the entire system, which negatively impact relations with allies and adversaries alike.

    Challenges in protecting the CIIs

    • Lack of Internal Resources: Many organizations including those that help to maintain Critical Infrastructure do not have enough trained security professionals to meet their security needs.
    • Reluctance in Sharing Information: Fear of losing a competitive edge over rivals inhibits the private and public sector to share information about the vulnerability of their systems.
    • Lack of coordination among agencies: Some of the agencies report to the Ministry of Home Affairs, while others report to the Prime Minister’s Office, Defence ministry, MeitY etc.
    • Capability Asymmetry: India lacks indigenization in hardware as well as software cybersecurity tools. This makes India’s cyberspace vulnerable to cyberattacks motivated by state and non-state actors.

    Steps taken by Govt to protect Critical information infrastructure

    • National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) to regulate and protect the nation’s CIIs.
    • The Government has also notified Information Technology (National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre and Manner of Performing Functions and Duties) Rules, 2013 (“NCIIPC Rules”)
    • Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In): For responding to computer security incidents.
    • National Cyber Security Coordinator (NCSC) under National Security Council Secretariat coordinates with different agencies at the national level for cyber security matters.
    • National Cyber Coordination Centre to generate necessary situational awareness of cyber security threats and enable timely information sharing for proactive, preventive and protective actions.

    There is a requirement for better understanding of vulnerabilities, including interdependencies between infrastructures. Hence, we need to evolve a comprehensive security policy to address the physical, legal, cyber and human dimensions of security.

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