India and Japan have finalized an ambitious cyber security pact that calls for a collective tackling of cyber threats and vigilance that both countries have become increasingly vulnerable to. The pact calls for a mutual strengthening of the digital and cyber security systems of both countries. It also looks at the utilization of 5G technology, artificial intelligence and technologies like the Internet of Things for enhanced cooperation in the field of cyber security.
This is a significant breakthrough for both India and Japan who share the common concern of cyber threats, spying and surveillance from a common country, China that is. According to experts, India’s still doesn’t have the kind of capability at the level of cyber security that is needed to thwart the sophisticated cyber spying technologies of a country like China. Therefore, this is a win win situation for India where India can immensely benefit from Japan’s technological expertise.
Using cyberspace as a medium for bullying, propaganda, spying on other countries as well as or launching attacks is not a new thing for China. China is an old player of this game. The recent spate of decisions by the Indian government banning a huge number of Chinese apps is also a step in the direction of strengthening cyber security. China is perhaps the only country in the world that has completely closed its internet space from any influence outside and yet monopolizes the global cyber space.
Cyber threats by China is not a simplistic thing that just involves launching cyber attacks on countries like India and seizing their official information. But it is a very well thought out, elaborate , sophisticated mechanism that involves making the whole world a slave to Chinese technology. Chinese hardware, the mobile phones for instance, play a vital role in this indirect kind of cyber attack as they have monopolized the world market, say experts.
Also, in context of a democracy like India, China is playing even a more dangerous game through the cyberspace. Through the manipulation of information and dissemination of propaganda through the internet which it majorly controls, China is creating a condition where it can easily interfere in the internal politics of any country, try to shape up the public opinion of people against the government and thus create social discontent and unrest. This is precisely what it’s doing in India. And because India is a democracy with no curbs on the internet, it is very easy for a communist dictatorship like China to do so.
So India’s soon to be signed agreement with Japan, about which the text has been finalized, is a bold step in the direction of countering China’s cyber security threats. And even through the Quad framework, the Quad countries can indeed play a very significant role in countering China’s sophisticated use of cyber technologies to harm other nations and interfere in their internal politics.