The term ‘hybrid warfare’ has been used by American military experts for more than a decade already. However, until recently, there was no officially accepted definition of the term, and, thus, an ambiguity existed over its meaning. As per the analysis of recent local conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine by the US political and military elite, hybrid warfare is a conflict where actors blend techniques, capabilities and resources to achieve their objectives.

• Vladimir I. Batyuk
• September 2017
• Strategic Analysis

India, the IT nation, did not make a news splash at CyberTech 2014. That is worth a passing thought. Because cyber is the fifth and new domain of warfare, after land, sea, air and space.

• Suryakanthi Tripathi
• January 2015
• Strategic Analysis

In this commentary, I will use strategic cyberwar theory1 to explain why India has a higher level of cyber resilience than several of its potential adversaries. Even if India has challenges in its government-led cyber defence,2 there are cyber resilience benefits to be drawn from the way Indian society operates, functions and is constitutionally designed and accepted by its constituents, independently of any cyber defence efforts. First, the concept of strategic cyberwar.

• Jan Kallberg
• January 2016
• Strategic Analysis

The pressing issues around cyberspace revolve around internet governance, cybersecurity and drawing up rules of the road for the new domain of cyberwar. While each of these is at a different stage in its evolution cycle, cyberspace itself is facing a watershed moment as insecurities mount. The fragmentation of cyberspace seems inevitable unless there is accelerated movement on resolving the fundamental issues of internet governance and cybersecurity that have been hanging fire for well over a decade.

• Arvind Gupta , Cherian Samuel
• July 2014
• Strategic Analysis

Just as the world was beginning to understand the various dimensions of cyberspace in general, and internet governance in particular, it received the rude shock of the Snowden revelations about the global surveillance carried out by the United States National Security Agency (NSA) in the name of counterterrorism. All kinds of electronic communications of US citizens and non-citizens alike were monitored. Phone tapping and electronic interception were part of this huge operation to collect a haystack of data in the hope of detecting terrorist links to protect national security.

• Kamlesh Bajaj
• July 2014
• Strategic Analysis

In June 2013, President Obama met with President Xi Jinping at Sunnylands, California. The meeting was seen as a chance for the two leaders to get to know each other in a relatively informal setting so they could address the growing mistrust between their countries. While maritime disputes, trade tensions and differences over how to contain the North Korean and Iranian nuclear programmes were high on the agenda, cyber security—in particular Chinese cyber espionage—was the defining issue of this unusual summit.

• Adam M. Segal
• July 2014
• Strategic Analysis

The issue of cybersecurity as an issue for international security has captured the attention of policy makers around the world. A 2011 United Nations (UN) assessment found that only 68 of the 193 UN member states had cybersecurity programmes. By 2012, this had increased to 114 countries. Of the nations with cybersecurity programmes, roughly 40 have publicly identified cybersecurity as a military concern in national military strategies or defence white papers.

• James A. Lewis
• July 2014
• Strategic Analysis

Cyber terrorism is a phenomenon that is gaining more and more attention. One reason for this is the concern that modern information and communications technology may be used in order to harm open societies. This concern also involves actual IT systems and the information generated being targets of advanced attacks. That way functions that are important to society could be affected. The term ‘cyber terrorism’ is complex. This article describes the difference between traditional and cyber terrorism.

• Roland Heickerö
• July 2014
• Strategic Analysis

This article discusses the utility and limitations of existing space surveillance networks to address the issue of spaceflight safety and proposes a way forward. Specifically, it begins with a brief explanation of why space situational awareness (SSA) is important and draws attention to the existing major SSA networks followed by a brief summary of the major limitations of the US, Russian and Chinese networks. These limitations highlight why we collectively need to craft a better and more efficient mechanism. Finally, it concludes with a techno-political elucidation for the future.

• Ajey Lele
• September 2013
• Strategic Analysis

• Soumya Tiwari
• July-December 2012
• CBW Magazine

China and to a lesser extent Pakistan have helped North Korea with its nuclear and missile development programmes.

• Prabha Rao
• October 30, 2017
• Issue Brief

Besides military targets, a number of strategic civilian targets, like urban data and communication centres, stock exchanges, factories and other centres of gravity could also be attacked by e-bombs.

• Atul Pant
• October 13, 2017
• IDSA Comments

While thermonuclear weapons are not necessary for maintaining a credible deterrent, they serve the purpose of enabling India to make effective use of its relatively limited fissile material stockpile.

• Sanjay Badri-Maharaj
• September 22, 2017
• IDSA Comments

The US decision to elevate its Cyber Command to that of a Unified Combatant Command sends a strong signal to entities and countries inimical to its interests to recalibrate their security calculus.

• Munish Sharma
• August 25, 2017
• IDSA Comments

India’s decision to review the imports of IT products from China could turn out to be its Achilles Heel, given that they constitute a key constituent of Chinese exports to India.

• Munish Sharma
• August 18, 2017
• IDSA Comments

This special feature explores the mechanics and attributes which have led to the steep rise in the popularity of cryptocurrencies, delves into the risks they pose to the user and the state, and evaluates the opportunities, risks and policy options for India.

• Munish Sharma
• August 01, 2017
• Special Feature

The DNC and En Marche hacking instances offer a peek into the future: data leaks and cyber means of electoral intervention are likely to become an unfortunate and inevitable part of the electoral process.

• Munish Sharma
• May 22, 2017
• Issue Brief

The Agni family has had a successful series of user trials extending over several variants and a number of years which should give some confidence in the robustness of the design, development, testing and induction process.

• Sanjay Badri-Maharaj
• May 15, 2017
• IDSA Comments

Given the advertisement surrounding the use of MOAB, it is possible that the Trump administration is signalling to its adversaries the very lethal weapons in its arsenal and its willingness to use them.

• Ajey Lele
• April 18, 2017
• IDSA Comments

Human rights, privacy and protection of confidentiality are important issues, but so are the requirements of intelligence agencies which have to contend with the inhumane activities of terrorist groups and individuals.

• Ajey Lele
• April 07, 2017
• IDSA Comments