Mains Practice Questions

Introduction:

India’s internal security paradigm is undergoing a structural shift, as reflected in the surge in cyber frauds, deepfake-driven misinformation during elections, attacks on critical digital infrastructure, and cross-border hybrid tactics.

• Enabled by rapid digitisation and social media reach, these non-traditional threats now rival and often outweigh conventional law-and-order challenges, redefining the nature of internal security in recent years.

Body:

Changing Nature of Internal Security Threats:

• Cybercrime And Financial Security Threats: Cybercrime has emerged as one of the fastest-growing internal security challenges, affecting individuals, banks, and government systems.
  • Cybersecurity incidents in India rose from 10.29 lakh in 2022 to 22.68 lakh in 2024, with online banking and UPI frauds accounting for a major share.
    • States like Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Telangana reported large-scale digital payment frauds involving thousands of victims.
  • Shift from Hawala to Cryptocurrencies and NFTs, making it difficult for agencies like the ED to "follow the money."
• Misinformation, Social Media, And Public Order: Social media–driven misinformation increasingly triggers violence, panic, and communal tensions, complicating internal security management.
  • To curb this, the government has increasingly relied on harsh measures such as Internet shutdowns, notably, India had the highest number of such shutdowns in the world in 2023.
• Threats To Critical Infrastructure: Energy, transport, health, and telecom infrastructure are increasingly vulnerable to cyber intrusions and sabotage, raising systemic security risks.
  • In 2020, a suspected cyber intrusion disrupted operations at the Mumbai power grid, affecting hospitals, railways, and financial institutions.
  • Subsequent reports flagged vulnerabilities in supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems used in power distribution.
• Hybrid And Technology-Enabled Terrorism: Traditional terrorism persists but has adopted new tools such as drones, encrypted messaging, and online financing, blurring internal and external security boundaries.
  • For instance, in 2021, the Jammu Air Force Station was targeted using two low-intensity IEDs dropped from drones..
  • The 2025-26 period has seen the rise of organized cyber-cartels offering ransomware-as-a-service, blurring the lines between crime and state-sponsored sabotage.
• Climate And Disaster-Induced Security Stress: Climate-induced disasters increasingly strain internal security forces by triggering displacement, urban stress, and humanitarian crises.
  • India has borne the brunt of climate-induced displacement, particularly from Bangladesh. Estimates of Bangladeshi citizens residing in India vary widely, ranging from around 2–5 million to as high as 12–20 million.

Preparedness Of India’s Security Architecture

• Institutional & Technological Strengths
  • Strengthened Cyber Security Institutions And Response Mechanisms: Dedicated cyber security institutions and incident-response frameworks have been established.
    • The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) reported handling over 30 lakh cyber security incidents in 2025, indicating both rising capacity and escalating threat volume.
  • Legal And Policy Preparedness: India has updated laws to address terrorism financing, cybercrime, and digital misuse.
    • Amendments to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, IT rules and recent Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023, strengthens enforcement.
  • Data Fusion: NATGRID (National Intelligence Grid) and CCTNS (Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems) are interlinking disparate databases to provide real-time intelligence to central agencies.
  • Predictive Policing & AI: Indian Police are using AI CCTV Cameras to maintain law & order, stop vandalism, Traffic violations & ANPR, gun detection.
• Structural Lacunae (Challenges)
  • Lack of a Written National Security Strategy (NSS): India still lacks a formal, publicly articulated NSS to coordinate civilian and military responses.
  • The "Silo" Problem: Intelligence sharing between State Police (the first responders) and Central Agencies (the analysts) remains fragmented due to political and jurisdictional friction.
  • Legal Lag: Laws like the IT Act, 2000 are often inadequate for 2026-level threats like "Q-Day" (Quantum-enabled decryption) or AI-driven social engineering.
  • Human Resource Gap: Although India had 40,000 job openings for cybersecurity professionals as of May 2023, 30% of these vacancies could not be filled due to huge skill shortage, reported TeamLease Digital, a subsidiary of TeamLease Services.

Measures to Enhance Preparedness

• Decentralised Cyber Policing: Set up district-level cyber crime units and forensic labs to enable swift investigation, evidence preservation, and victim assistance in cyber offences.
• Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity: Enforce regular cyber audits, stress tests, and zero-trust systems to secure power, telecom, transport, and health networks from cyber sabotage.
• Counter-Disinformation Architecture: Establish a permanent strategic communication unit to counter deepfakes, misinformation, and information warfare through fact-checking and platform coordination.
• Centre–State Intelligence Integration: Enable real-time intelligence sharing and joint operations between State Police and Central agencies through interoperable platforms and task forces.
• Climate–Security Integration: Mainstream climate risk assessment into internal security planning to manage disaster-induced migration, urban stress, and conflict risks.
• Towards Future-Ready Cyber Laws Modernise legal frameworks to tackle AI-driven and encrypted crimes while investing in post-quantum security and ethical AI-based surveillance.

Conclusion

• India’s internal security threats are no longer episodic but systemic, digital, and hybrid. While institutional capacity has expanded, future readiness hinges on anticipatory governance, tech-savvy policing, federal synergy, and climate-aware security planning, ensuring security architecture evolves as fast as the threats it confronts.