Today’s weapon of choice, its expanding dimensions
#GS-03 Internal Security
For Prelims:
What is known as Grey Zone Operations:
- Grey Zone Operations can be defined as the using of operational space between peace and war to change the status quo through the use of coercive actions which remain below a threshold in order to prevent a conventional military response.
- Cyber warfare, Espionage, Assassinations, use of non-state actors are few examples of Grey Zone Operations.
For Mains
The cause for concern:
- In the wake of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the world seems to become more and more aware of artificial intelligence (AI)-driven military innovations and ‘potential crisis hot zones’, along with references to new forms of hybrid warfare.
- However, there is very little convesation about the threat posed by cyber-attacks along with the new reality of the ‘weaponisation of everything’ which has entered the vocabulary of threats.
- Grey Zone Operations are already beginning to be employed to undermine the vitals of a state’s functioning, a trend likely to grow.
- The convergence of emerging technologies alongside new hybrid usages, pose several challenges to nations and institutions.
The threat of Cyber Attacks:
- Cyber space has been described as a superset of interconnected information and communication technology, hardware, software processes, services, data and systems.
- Hence it is evident that it constitutes a critical aspect of our national power.
- The cyber threat is all-pervading, embracing many regions and operating on different planes.
- Hence, dealing with the cyber threat calls for both versatility and imaginative thinking.
- As a general rule, it takes a long time for the general public to become aware of the nature and consequences of cyber-attacks.
- At first these look like random accidents, and it takes sophisticated cyber forensics to understand the contours of such attacks.
- In the case of the Russia-Ukraine war, cyber space has become an experiment for various players to try and support a weaker nation against a more powerful opponent, through distortion of information and communication flows.
