Vol. 6, Issue 2, Part C (2024)

Focussing on policy issues and national security imperatives, this report analyses the cybersecurity-defense nexus in India. The main goal is to analyse the cybersecurity risks that India is now experiencing, determine how well existing policies are addressing those risks, and find any obstacles to a successful rollout. The research team used a mixed-methods strategy, collecting both qualitative and quantitative information through surveys and interviews with various stakeholders (Including cybersecurity specialists, lawmakers, and defence officials). Public documents, scholarly articles, and business studies served as sources for the secondary data. To analyse qualitative data, thematic coding was employed. Quantitative data was subjected to descriptive analysis, correlation, regression, & ANOVA to reveal linkages and patterns. Phishing (75%), ransomware (70%), Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks (65%), and Advanced Persistent dangers (APTs) (80%) were the most common cyber dangers, according to the statistics. targeting critical sectors such as banking, defense, and public infrastructure. Government stakeholders rated existing policies as moderately effective, with 60% considering them sufficient, while only 30% of private experts shared this view, citing weaknesses in real-time threat responses and forensic capabilities. The study identified implementation challenges, including a lack of skilled manpower (60%), overlapping departmental roles (55%), limited budgets (50%), and outdated policies (45%). ANOVA results (F = 4.5, p = 0.015) showed significant differences in threat perception across sectors. Enhancing India’s cybersecurity resilience demands strategic investments in human resources, updated legal frameworks, stronger public-private collaboration, and alignment with global standards such as GDPR.