Defence Cyber Agency

Defence Cyber Agency
Insignia of the Defence Cyber Agency
Active	Established: 28 September 2018 Activated: November 2019 Operational: August 2021
Country	India
Type	Integrated tri-services agency
Role	Cyber Warfare
Part of	Integrated Defence Staff (IDS)
Headquarters	New Delhi, India
Nickname(s)	DCyA
Motto(s)	sevahāyate tu hanti duṣkṛtām
Commanders
Current commander	Rear Admiral Sanjay Sachdeva

The Defence Cyber Agency (DCyA) is an integrated tri-services agency of the Indian Armed Forces. Headquartered in New Delhi, the agency is tasked with handling cyber security threats. The DCyA draws personnel from all three branches of the Armed Forces. The head of the DCyA is an officer of two-star rank, and reports to the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) through the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS). ^[1]

Indian Navy Rear Admiral Mohit Gupta was appointed in May 2019 as the first head of the DCyA. ^[2] The DCyA was expected to be operational by November 2019. ^[3] As of 2021, DCyA was fully operational with Army, Air Force, and Navy establishing their respective Cyber Emergency Response Teams (CERT). ^[4]

History

The Naresh Chandra Task Force was set up in July 2011 by National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon to review the recommendations of the Kargil Review Committee, assess the implementation progress, and suggest new reforms related to national security. ^{[5] [6]} The task force was led by Naresh Chandra, a retired Indian Administrative Service officer, and comprised 13 other members, including Gopalaswami Parthasarathy, Air Chief Marshal Srinivasapuram Krishnaswamy (retired), Admiral Arun Prakash (retired), Lieutenant General V. R. Raghavan (retired), Anil Kakodkar, K. C. Verma, and V. K. Duggal. The committee conducted the first holistic review of national security since the Kargil Review Committee and submitted its classified report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 23 May 2012. ^[7] Among its recommendations, the Task Force recommended the creation of a cyber command (DCyA), an aerospace command and a special operations command. All three units were proposed to be tri-service commands in order to bring the various special forces units of the military under a unified command and control structure. ^{[8] [9]}

The creation of the Defence Cyber Agency (DCyA), the Defence Space Agency (DSA), and the Armed Forces Special Operations Division (AFSOD) was approved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Combined Commanders' Conference at Jodhpur Air Force Station on 28 September 2018. ^[10] The existing Defence Information Assurance and Research Agency was upgraded to form the new Defence Cyber Agency. ^[3]

Area of responsibility

The Week reported that the DCyA would have the capability to hack into networks, mount surveillance operations, lay honeypots, recover deleted data from hard drives and cellphones, break into encrypted communication channels, and perform other complex objectives. ^[11] According to Lieutenant General Deependra Singh Hooda, the DCyA would have the responsibility of framing a long-term policy for the security of military networks, including eliminating the use of foreign hardware and software in the Indian Armed Forces, and preparing a cyberwarfare doctrine. ^[12]

See also

• List of cyber warfare forces of other nations

Integrated entities

• Defence Planning Committee, tri-services command at policy level with NSA as its chief
• Chief of Defence Staff (India), professional head of the Indian Armed Forces
• Integrated Defence Staff, tri-services command at strategic level composed of MoD, MEA and tri-services staff
• Indian Armed Forces Tri-Service Commands
  • Northern Theatre Command (India)
  • Western Theatre Command (India)
  • Maritime Theatre Command
  • Air Defence Command (India)
  • Strategic Forces Command, nuclear command of India
    • Indian Nuclear Command Authority, Strategic Forces Command
  • Defence Space Agency
  • Special Operations Division

Assets

• List of Indian Air Force stations
• List of Indian Navy bases
• List of active Indian Navy ships
• India's overseas military bases

General concepts

• Joint warfare, general concept
• Credible minimum deterrence
• List of cyber warfare forces of other nations

References

1. "India setting up tri-service commands for special forces, cyber security, and space |Jane's 360". www.janes.com. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
2. "India set to have Defence Cyber Agency in May; Rear Admiral Mohit to be its first chief". ANI. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
3. P, Rajat (16 May 2019). "Agencies take shape for special operations, space, cyber war". The Times of India. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
4. "'GOI in final stage of formulating National Cyber Security strategy'". 4 August 2021.
5. Joshi, Manoj. "Shutting his ears to change". India Today. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
6. Joshi, Manoj (March 2014). "Policy Report: The Unending Quest to Reform India National Security System" (PDF). S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) (www.rsis.edu.sg). Retrieved 6 December 2018.
7. "All eyes on Naresh Chandra report on natl security today". Rediff. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
8. Kanwal, Gurmeet; Kohli, Neha. "Defence Reforms: A National Imperative" (PDF). Brookings. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
9. "Formation of Indian armed forces' special operations unit begins, to have 3000 commandos". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
10. Apr 30, ANI | Updated. "India set to have Defence Cyber Agency in May; Rear Admiral Mohit Gupta to be its first chief". The Times of India. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
11. "Three-pronged plan". The Week. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
12. "New Defence Cyber Agency Will Have to Work Around Stovepipes Built by Army, Navy & Air Force: Lt Gen Hooda". News18. 26 June 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.