2017 · GS Paper 3 · Q9 · 10 marks
Discuss the potential threats of Cyber attack and the security framework to prevent it.
In short
Cyber attacks threaten critical infrastructure, banks, personal data and public trust, and India counters them with the IT Act, the DPDP Act and agencies such as CERT-In, NCIIPC and I4C. Reported incidents rose from 10.29 lakh in 2022 to 22.68 lakh in 2024.
Model answer
Ghissu Editorial · Verified 4 Oct 2026 · 263 words
Infrastructure sabotage
Malware reached the Kudankulam nuclear plant's administrative network in 2019, showing that power and nuclear systems are exposed.
Financial fraud and ransomware
Cosmos Bank lost about Rs 94 crore in 2018, and ransomware shut AIIMS Delhi's servers in 2022.
Espionage
State-backed groups steal defence, diplomatic and personal data, often entering through weak devices such as CCTV cameras.
Information warfare
Deepfakes and misinformation after the Pahalgam attack of 2025 eroded public trust.
Law
The IT Act 2000 punishes cyber terrorism (section 66F) and protects critical systems (section 70A), while the DPDP Act 2023 makes data fiduciaries guard personal data.
Institutions
CERT-In, NCIIPC, I4C and the Defence Cyber Agency each guard one front.
Operations
CERT-In's 2022 directions mandate six-hour incident reporting, and the Cyber Swachhta Kendra offers free malware removal tools.
Best practice
The NIST Cybersecurity Framework sets the full defence life cycle that regulators like RBI mirror.
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Cyber Security9 questions
Asked in 9 of 14 sittings since 2013
- 2024Describe the context and salient features of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.
- 2022What are the different elements of cyber security ? Keeping in view the challenges in cyber security, examine the extent to which India has successfully developed a comprehensive National Cyber Security Strategy.
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Question from the official UPSC Civil Services (Main) Examination 2017 paper. Answer written by Ghissu's engine and checked against our editorial standards. Found an error? Tell us and we correct it within 48 hours.