Topic – Basics of cyber security
5) Cyber-attacks have grown in terms of sophistication and reach in the recent times. Evaluate India’s performance in tackling cybersecurity threats and whether India needs an army of ethical hackers?(250 words)
Why this question
The article discusses the risk posed by a bug in IRCTC website and the importance of beefening up our cybersecurity infrastructure. The sheer magnitude of the risk posed by this is immense and it’s a pressing problem for the country from an internal security point of view.
Key demand of the question
The question expects us to discuss the status quo of incidents related to cybersecurity breaches that have plagued the country. Thereafter, we need to evaluate how has India responded to such breaches and how successful we have been in such efforts. Finally, we need to examine whether having an army of white hat hackers would help alleviate the problem.
Directive word
Evaluate – When you are asked to evaluate, you have to pass a sound judgement about the truth of the given statement in the question or the topic based on evidences. You have to appraise the worth of the statement in question.
Structure of the answer
Introduction – highlight the IRCTC incident to establish that this is a problem which needs serious consideration. Also explain who ethical hackers are.
Body
- Discuss the current situation in India with respect to such attacks – India faces the highest number of cybersecurity threats in the Asia-Pacific region with over 500,000 alerts daily
- Discuss the policy issues, infrastructural issues, capacity issues etc
- Explain how can an army of white hat hackers help in preventing such security breaches. Highlight the examples of countries such as China which have already treaded on this path. Discuss any issues with this idea. You can also suggest a couple of other screws that need to be tightened for a holistic improvement.
Conclusion – Highlight that is an emerging and potentially crippling risk that the country faces and we should do everything possible to hedge ourselves against such risks.
