Indian army to boost cybersecurity

NEW DELHI, May 2 (UPI) -- The Indian army said it has decided to boost cybersecurity of its information networks.

Army chief Gen. Deepak Kapoor, who chaired the commanders' conference, said the Army decided to boost cybersecurity of its information networks down to the level of divisions, which have more than 15,000 troops.

The army chief during the conference also underlined the urgent need for periodic cybersecurity audits by the Army Cyber Security Establishment, The Times of India reported Friday.

"The most advanced armies in the world, like the U.S. one, also face 3,000 to 4,000 attempts a year to hack their networks. As our Army boosts its info-tech levels, we also become more vulnerable to such threats. Future conflicts will be fought by networks," said a senior Army officer.

China and Pakistan are also bolstering their information-warfare capabilities at a rapid pace. China, in particular, has made cyber-warfare one of its topmost military priorities, with Chinese hackers breaking into sensitive computer networks of the United States, Britain, Germany and even India on a regular basis, local media said.

"By crippling or destroying an adversary's economic, communication and strategic networks and infrastructure, cyber-warfare can even prove more deadly than ballistic missile strikes. It can be in the form of denial-of-service cyber-attacks and paralyzing computer viruses," the official said.