The Asian Security Conference (ASC) is a major calendar event of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi. Since 1999, when the conference was first held, the ASC has emerged as an important platform for debating issues relating to Asian Security. For the last ten years, the ASC has been providing a forum for security analysts, practitioners and policy makers from around the world to share their views on the challenges facing the Asian continent. The eighteenth conference in this series is being held on the topic “Securing Cyberspace: Asian and International Perspectives”.
Cybersecurity is increasingly drawing attention from policy makers as the world becomes increasingly interlinked and dependent on digital pathways. Use of cyber space by governments, businesses and individuals has provided economic benefits and helped connect the world in beneficial ways. Simultaneously, however, there are attempts being made by state and non-state actors to deny its legitimate use by others. Use of cyber space for espionage, both commercial and security-related, are common. Its use by criminals and extremists is no less dangerous. Managing this nascent and rapidly developing threat has proved to be problematic given that it now touches almost every aspect of human existence, from communication to commerce. It equally impact on a variety of stakeholders, individuals, corporations and states, all with differing priorities and perspectives. The large number of users and actors involved, and their varying perceptions of the threats and responses to emanating from cyber space have led to conflicting voices on how best to mitigate and overcome them.
Even as the connected systems and networks have grown more intertwined and complex, Cyberspace is being used for a variety of malicious activities, from crime to state-sponsored attacks on critical infrastructure. The interconnectedness of cyber networks means that even the most basic responses end up having a ripple effect or unintended consequences. Maintaining a balance between security and benefitting from the many opportunities provided by the deployment of new cyber technologies is proving to be one of the most vexatious issues of the 21st century.
The risk from cyber threats to government agencies, private enterprises, public sector undertakings and research institutions of strategic importance can manifest in many forms. A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack can disrupt business operations or it may cause severe outages, thereby having a direct impact on their revenue and reputation. Companies also face the risk of losing trade secrets or intellectual property rights. Moreover, a massive data breach for companies or governance portals storing data of customers or citizens can compromise personal information. A cyber-attack on entities that are part of critical infrastructure can have a debilitating impact on national security. The risk increases manifold for electricity grids, nuclear installations, and telemetry/command and control network of space assets. Surprisingly, social media, as a threat vector, has become a channel of least resistance for threat actors to conduct reconnaissance, identity thefts and gather information on employees, projects, systems and infrastructure, besides spreading hateful propaganda and enticing impressionable youth to follow extremist ideologies.
Cyberspace has become an intricate constituent of national power. The strategies for the development of Cyberspace are not just restricted to civilian purposes; rather, this domain now falls well under the ambit of the armed forces. With the advent of Network Centricity in military operations and Revolution in Military Affairs, armed forces are at elevated risk of cyber incidents. The integrated use of land, air, maritime and space assets for enhanced domain awareness or real-time information access warrants the armed forces to build expertise in both defensive and offensive cyber operations. Nation states have documented their Cyber Strategies and executed them in the form of Cyber Commands, both overt and covert. With the military dimension, Cyberspace is witnessing a race for development and deployment of cyber weapons. An arms control regime, the Wassenaar Arrangement has enlarged its controls list in consonance with the way Cyberspace has altered present day security landscape. The development of cyber weapons and their potential usage against high value targets has been one of the major security concerns for nation states.
The threats in Cyberspace are varying in nature and intensity. Leading companies operating in the domains of energy, telecommunications, finance, and transportation sectors are targets of Advanced Persistent Threats (APT). Non-state actors, such as terrorist organizations and criminal syndicates have become tech-savvy, thereby employing human resources to develop malware. These tools are used extensively in committing Cybercrime. Terrorist organizations leverage the benefits of Cyberspace, harnessing it for ideology propagation, recruitment and communication. The terrorist organization, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has been a prime case study. It has tremendous presence on social media helps spread its propaganda and recruit sympathizers across the globe. Al-Qaeda is also reported to have developed encryption software to secure their communication in Cyberspace.
As the extent of commerce transacted over Cyberspace grows, along with increasing reliance on information technology to drive cost-efficiencies, the risk exposure to enterprises have increased. According to the 2013 Security Threat Report published by the cyber security company, Sophos, Asia accounted for eight of the top-10 countries most vulnerable to Cybercrime. Asia, the largest continent on earth, represents 60 percent of the world’s population. It is the fastest growing economic region globally. On the other hand, the unprecedented growth of rising economies, rapid industrialisation, rising demand for energy, expanding markets and, depleting natural resources have led to competition and confrontation with respect to the access and control of resources. As Asia continues to grow its share of the global trade and commerce, the threats from cyber-attacks are expected to increase in tandem.
Cyber-attacks, like many of the new security challenges, are transnational in origin and nature, and no nation can combat them alone. Despite variations in ethnic, economic and government systems, Asian countries need robust security architecture to resolve the issues specific to the geographical region as well as international issues detrimental to Asia’s economic and societal growth.
With the shift of power towards Asia, its representation in the rule-making mechanisms and inputs towards creating a secure cyberspace is critical to international politics, the world economy, and the credibility of international institutions and cybersecurity regimes. Within Asia, cyber threats have altered the security perceptions of institutions and government systems. Against this backdrop, the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi will organise the 18th Asian Security Conference focusing on the emerging threats and challenges from cyber domain to national and regional security. The two-and-a-half-day conference will consider international and regional responses to cyber security and the scope for cooperation amidst varying national policy frameworks and legislations.
The major themes to be discussed include the following:
- The Global Cybersecurity Environment
- International and Regional Responses to issues in Cybersecurity
- Non-State Actors and Cyberspace
- Securing Strategic Critical Infrastructure
- Cybersecurity and the Digital Economy
- Role of Military in Cybersecurity
- Disruptive Technologies and Cybersecurity
