Securing India’s Cyberspace

Context:

There are reports that the Indian army is developing cryptographic techniques to make its network resistant to attacks from systems with quantum capabilities.

Need for quantum-resistant systems:

• Insecure Traditional encryption: The vulnerabilities of traditional encryption models in existing digital infrastructure put at risk its military applications.
• Encryption standards need an update: Current protocols like the RSA (Rivest–Shamir–Adleman) are insufficient, given the capabilities of quantum cryptographic attacks.
• Dependency on foreign hardware: Quantum cyberattacks can potentially breach any hardened target. India’s dependence on Chinese hardware is an additional vulnerability.

Progress made by countries:

• United States: US National Quantum Initiative Act has allocated $1.2 billion for research in defense-related quantum technology.
• India: India has demonstrated a QKD (Quantum Key Distribution) link between two of its cities. Which is commendable, given the barrage of attacks from Chinese state-sponsored hackers.
• China: China now hosts two of the world’s fastest quantum computers and its quantum advances expand the spectre of quantum cyberattacks against any digital infrastructure.