TRANSFORMATION
Grey Zone Operations in the Infospace Dimension: Imperatives for India
This is the script of a special address given on the topic “Information Operations in the Indian Context” given at the Military College of Telecommunications Engineering (MCTE), Mhow, India on 01 Oct 2021. The address was part of a seminar on “Electromagnetic Spectrum and National Security” held on the occasion of MCTE’s Platinum Jubilee Raising Day. The talk commences by discussing certain conceptual underpinnings and definitional nuances of Information Operations (IO), and how these relate to the Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) and the Diplomatic-Information-Military-Economic (DIME) paradigms. It then highlights several key facets which need to be addressed for operationalizing the three primary functions of IO, namely, electronic warfare (EW), cyber and psychological/ cognitive operations. It also briefly discusses the concepts of Cyber Electro-Magnetic Activities (CEMA) and Cyber Influence Operations (CIO). Finally, the talk concludes by stressing the importance of setting up an Indian Tri-Service IO Command using a ‘bricks and clay’ approach, as a suitable counter to the recently raised Chinese PLA Strategic Support Force.
Warfighting in Cyberspace: Concepts, Global Trends and the Indian Perspective
This keynote address was given at the virtual ‘National Summit on Cyber Security 2021’ conducted by Institute of Technology and Science, Ghaziabad, India. The audience comprised of faculty, students and industry participants from India and abroad. The talk covers a wide range of issues as follows: importance of cyberspace as a warfighting domain; modelling of national cyberspace; strategic cyber threats and targets; cyber defence strategies; existing cyberspace governance set-up and current strategy for protection of national cyberspace in India; global practices in national cyberspace protection covering US, UK, China and Russia; and finally, recommended transformative restructuring for cyberspace governance in India.
Infospace Wars: Towards an Indian Information Operations Command (Part II)
This work endeavours to analyse the changing nature of warfare in the Information Age, wherein inter-state conflicts are increasingly shifting from the physical (kinetic) to the virtual (information and cognitive) domains, in the process blurring the boundaries between peace and war. It takes note of the enhanced threat posed by China in Infospace and Space domains consequent to the creation of the PLA SSF. Against this backdrop, this two-part series explores India’s response options for developing requisite capability to engage effectively in Infospace conflicts. The previous part discussed the defining characteristics of IO and analyzed the organizational models for information forces adopted by China and the US. This concluding part first reviews existing IO structures in the Indian Armed Forces and then proposes a ‘bricks and clay’ phased approach for raising an Indian Tri-Service IO Command, assessed as being the model best suited for India.
Infospace Wars: Towards an Indian Information Operations Command (Part I)
The arena of warfighting in the 21st Century is gradually shifting from the physical to the information and cognitive realms. Realizing this, China has displayed commendable agility by integrating strategic space, cyber, electronic and psychological warfare capabilities under the potent PLA Strategic Support Force (SSF); the US has raised its Cyber and Space Commands over the last decade and has significant psychological operations resources at its disposal; and Russia has demonstrated its capabilities for waging war in Infospace by conducting dramatic operations in Estonia, Georgia and Ukraine. Against this backdrop, it is imperative for India to build non-kinetic warfare capabilities in conformance with our geopolitical aspirations. This two-part series outlines a roadmap for creating an Indian IO Command. In this first part, it discusses the defining characteristics of IO and analyses the organizational models for information forces adopted by China and the US with the aim of determining IO structures best suited for India.
Cyber Influence Operations: A Battle of Wits and Bits – A Call to Action for the Indian Armed Forces (Part III)
This series on Cyber Influence Operations (CIO) commenced with an analysis of concepts and terminologies and went on to discuss various tools, techniques and stratagems which are available for engaging in this new form of warfare in the cognitive domain. Thereafter, it reviewed the strategies being adopted by Russia, USA and China to operationalize CIO. This culminating three-part article in the series charts out a way forward for the Indian Armed Forces for developing IO/ CIO capabilities. The first two parts covered doctrine and organisational aspects respectively. This last part makes several recommendations in the area of human resource development and cadre management, taking note of the highly specialist nature of CIO disciplines.