CCG’s Comments to the National Security Council Secretariat on the National Cyber Security Strategy 2020

The Centre for Communication Governance at the National Law University Delhi (CCG) is grateful to the National Security Council Secretariat for this opportunity to make meaningful contributions to its mandate of formulating a futuristic National Cyber Security Strategy 2020 (NCSS). In response to the Call for Comments CCG apart from the comments below, CCG has separately submitted detailed comments to the Office of the National Cyber Security Coordinator.

Our comments are a result of original and thorough legal and policy research which draws upon multiple primary sources of information, including applicable domestic and international law and precedents, and a comparative study of the cyber security strategy and policy documents of 16 other countries. Secondary sources such as news reports, statistics on cybercrime and malicious cyber activity compiled and released by various Government departments and agencies and data on budgetary allocations released by the Union Government have also been relied on.

This submission is presented in six parts, supplemented by three annexures that provide insight into our sources, analysis and research methodology.

Part I introduces the background in which this strategy is being formulated, and presents a principled approach to the formulation of cybersecurity policy, that is driven by a coherent strategic framework constructed under the NCSS to guide it.

Part II presents an analysis of the landscape of existing and emergent threats that pose a risk to the cybersecurity of the entire nation. We do so with the objective of identifying areas that need to be accorded a higher priority in the formulation of the NCSS.

Parts III, IV and V correspond to the three pillars of strategy identified in the Call for Comments. Part III deals with the horizontal dimension of strategy and unpacks the contents of the first pillar, i.e., “Secure”, wherein we present for the consideration of the Secretariat, an original three-tiered model of the ‘national cyberspace’ as a roadmap to cyber sovereignty. We submit for consideration for the Secretariat, the adoption of the principle of peaceful uses of cyberspace to align with the nation’s goals of sustainable economic development, while being mindful of the gradual militarization of cyberspace by both state and non-state actors.

Part IV deals with the “Strengthen” pillar in which CCG examines the existing architecture for cybersecurity to analyse the vertical dimensions of strategy. Herein, we propose measures to strengthen institutions, process and capabilities relevant for cyber security.

Part V deals with the third pillar, namely, “Synergise”, which explains how the horizontal and vertical dimensions of the strategy can be integrated in order to optimize levels of inherent friction that could hinder the achievement of strategic and policy goals. We propose that synergies need to be identified and/or created at three levels. First, at the inter-ministerial level, among the government departments and agencies. Second, at the national level, for enhanced cooperation and strategic partnerships between the public and private sectors. Third, at the international level for enhanced cooperation and strategic partnerships with like-minded nations, geared towards building stronger national defences in cyberspace. In this part, we take the Government’s inclination to treat data a “public good” or “societal commons” to its logical conclusion and accordingly, propose a principled, common-but-differentiated-responsibility model between multiple stakeholders in the cybersecurity ecosystem for grounding public private partnerships and pooling of financial resources.

Part VI concludes this submission and presents the major findings, suggestions and recommendations of this submission.

The full text of the comments is available here.