'Information war has potential to threaten political stability'

NEW DELHI: Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said that the gap between internal and external security was getting narrower and new dimensions of the security threats are emerging that are becoming increasingly difficult to classify.

Addressing the convocation of the National Defence College in Delhi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh expressed his concern over what he termed "non-kinetic" and "non-contact" warfare.

"We are facing such security threats, which fall into the category of non-kinetic and non-contact warfare. Cyber warfare and information warfare are such security threats. The vulnerability of critical infrastructure to cyber-attacks has become a big concern. Critical infrastructure like power generation and distribution is increasingly becoming more complex and reliant on networks of connected devices," said Rajnath Singh.

Singh noted that the energy sector is one of the main targets of cyber-attacks along with transport public sector services, telecommunications and critical manufacturing industries.

"With the changing times and society, the dimensions of security have also changed. The gap between internal and external security is getting narrower. New dimensions of security threats are emerging, that are becoming increasingly difficult to classify," Singh said adding that the energy sector is one of the main targets of cyber-attacks along with transport public sector services, telecommunications and critical manufacturing industries.