How India Can Address Cybersecurity Challenges in Nuclear Domain

Across the world, cybersecurity architecture is becoming more complex and increasingly requiring advanced safety mechanisms to protect against system vulnerabilities and potential crises. Although cybersecurity does factor into India’s nuclear security architecture, it can be argued that there is limited emphasis on building and strengthening the infrastructure to respond to the rapidly growing and evolving cyber threats. There are several instances of cyberattacks on nuclear systems that allow for countries like India to learn and better prepare the security infrastructure for the rising cyber threats in the nuclear domain. Finally, the primary point of concern for India’s nuclear systems in terms of cyber risks and threats remains the lack of importance given to a clear, concise, and robust policy framework. In this regard, India’s nuclear infrastructure, through a cyber-nuclear policy, must engage in periodic assessments of its cybersecurity mechanisms and its effectiveness in order to better equip nuclear infrastructure against these threats.