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Defence Cyber Agency

The Defence Cyber Agency (DCA) is a tri-services organization under India's Ministry of Defence, integrating cyber warfare capabilities from the Army, Navy, and Air Force to conduct defensive and offensive operations in cyberspace.^[1]^[2] Headquartered in New Delhi and reporting to the Chief of Defence Staff, the DCA was announced in September 2018 following high-profile cyber intrusions targeting government sites, with activation in late 2019 and full operational status achieved by August 2021.^[3]^[4] The agency's mandate encompasses securing defence communication networks, critical infrastructure, and military assets against cyber threats, while enabling coordinated responses to state-sponsored attacks and espionage.^[5]^[1] It operates alongside entities like the National Cyber Coordination Centre but focuses specifically on military domains, including real-time threat mitigation and integration into broader joint operations under India's evolving theatre commands.^[6] Among its notable activities, the DCA has conducted large-scale exercises such as 'Cyber Suraksha' in June 2025, involving over 100 participants to enhance national-level cyber resilience through simulated attacks and defensive drills.^[7] While no major public controversies have emerged regarding its operations, analyses highlight ongoing challenges in India's cyber readiness, including gaps in real-time detection and the need for expanded offensive doctrines amid rising threats from adversarial nations.^[8]

History

Inception and Formation (2018–2019)

The inception of the Defence Cyber Agency (DCA) stemmed from India's recognition of growing cyber threats, including state-sponsored attacks attributed to adversaries like China and Pakistan, which exposed vulnerabilities in military and government networks. In 2018, following incidents such as the alleged hacking of the Home, Law, and Defence ministries' websites, the government initiated planning for a dedicated tri-service cyber entity to coordinate defensive and offensive operations, marking a shift from siloed service-specific cyber units.^[3] This was influenced by broader strategic assessments, including reports of persistent cyber intrusions targeting Indian defence infrastructure.^[9] The formal announcement of the DCA occurred in May 2019, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi outlined its creation alongside other tri-service commands for space and special operations, as part of reforms to enhance jointness in the armed forces.^[10] Rear Admiral Mohit Gupta of the Indian Navy was appointed as the inaugural head of the agency that month, with an initial focus on integrating personnel from the Army, Navy, and Air Force cyber units to form a cohesive structure reporting to the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff.^[11] The DCA was envisioned to handle cyber warfare responsibilities, drawing on existing service-level capabilities while addressing gaps in unified command and rapid response.^[12] By late 2019, the government approved the agency's setup, with activation targeted for November, laying the groundwork for its operational mandate under the Ministry of Defence. This formation aligned with global trends in militarizing cyberspace but reflected India's emphasis on tri-service integration to counter asymmetric threats without immediate escalation to full theatre commands.^[13] Early efforts included recruiting domain experts and establishing protocols for information sharing, though initial challenges involved aligning disparate service doctrines.^[2]

Operationalization and Early Milestones (2020–2021)

The Defence Cyber Agency (DCA) advanced towards full operational capability during 2020–2021, building on its tri-service foundation established in 2019 under Rear Admiral Mohit Gupta as its inaugural head.^[11] This period involved integrating cyber expertise from the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force, with emphasis on developing unified protocols for threat detection and response amid rising state-sponsored cyber incidents targeting Indian infrastructure.^[2] By early 2021, the agency had consolidated its structure to handle military-specific cyber defence, marking a shift from preparatory phases to active readiness.^[3] A key milestone occurred in May 2021, when the DCA was formally set up to counter attacks on critical military assets, enabling coordinated tri-service operations.^[14] In August 2021, the Ministry of Defence confirmed the agency's full functionality, two years after its initial announcement, allowing it to operationalize both defensive measures against intrusions and preparatory frameworks for offensive capabilities.^[3] This operationalization included the establishment of service-specific cyber operations support wings, enhancing interoperability and response times to cyber threats from adversaries like China and Pakistan during heightened border tensions.^[15] Early achievements encompassed initial capacity-building exercises and the integration of approximately 1,000 personnel across services, positioning the DCA as India's primary military entity for cyberspace domain awareness and resilience.^[16] These steps addressed gaps in prior fragmented service-level cyber units, though challenges in resource allocation and technology acquisition persisted, as noted in government assessments.^[2]

Recent Developments (2022–Present)

In May 2024, the Defence Cyber Agency conducted Exercise Cyber Suraksha from 20 to 24 May, a comprehensive cyber defence drill focused on enhancing cyber situational awareness and strengthening the overall cyber defence posture of the armed forces.^[17] Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan attended the exercise, underscoring its importance in integrating tri-service cyber operations.^[17] The agency continued its operational maturation in 2025 with the launch of an expanded Cyber Suraksha exercise on 16 June, spanning 12 days until 27 June and involving over 100 participants from defence and related sectors.^[18] This multi-phased national-level initiative simulated high-intensity real-world cyber threats, including advanced persistent threats, to test analytical capabilities, defensive responses, and inter-agency coordination while incorporating training modules, leadership conclaves for chief information security officers, and table-top exercises.^[18] The exercise emphasized proactive resilience-building against evolving cyber risks, aligning with DCA's mandate for joint cyberspace operations.^[18] Amid rising cyber threats to India's defence infrastructure, DCA has advanced its role in coordinating tri-service cyber efforts, including the anticipated implementation of a Joint Doctrine for Cyberspace Operations to standardize offensive and defensive protocols across the Army, Navy, and Air Force.^[19] Reports indicate ongoing development of indigenous tools for cyber counteroperations, aimed at deterrence in potential conflicts, though specific deployments remain classified.^[20] These activities reflect DCA's shift toward integrated, proactive cyber capabilities in response to documented increases in state-sponsored attacks targeting military networks.^[21]

Organizational Structure

Command and Leadership

The Defence Cyber Agency (DCA) is headed by a Director General, typically a two-star officer (Rear Admiral, Major General, or Air Vice Marshal) selected on rotation from the Indian Army, Navy, or Air Force to promote tri-service integration in cyber command. This leadership position oversees the agency's defensive and offensive cyber operations, ensuring unified command across military branches under the Ministry of Defence. The DCA functions within the framework of the Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS), reporting to the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (CISC) and ultimately to the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), who coordinates joint military capabilities.^[2]^[19] Rear Admiral Mohit Gupta of the Indian Navy was appointed as the first Director General in May 2019, marking the agency's initial operational leadership phase.^[22] Under his tenure, the DCA focused on establishing command protocols for cyber threats amid growing regional digital hostilities. As of 2025, Rear Admiral Sanjay Sachdeva, NM, serves as Director General, leading efforts in exercises like Cyber Suraksha to enhance national cyber resilience.^[23] This command structure prioritizes interoperability, with the Director General drawing on specialized teams from each service for real-time decision-making in cyber domains, though challenges in resource allocation persist due to the nascent nature of integrated cyber commands.^[2]

Personnel Composition and Tri-Service Integration

The Defence Cyber Agency (DCA) is staffed by approximately 1,000 personnel deputed from the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force, forming a tri-service composition that ensures representation from each branch of the armed forces.^[3]^[1] This structure draws on specialized expertise in signals, communications, and information warfare from the respective services, with personnel typically selected for their technical proficiency in cyber defence and operations.^[1] The agency's cadre operates under the Integrated Defence Staff, enabling coordinated efforts across service boundaries rather than siloed operations.^[3] Tri-service integration within the DCA addresses historical challenges of inter-service coordination by placing officers and specialists from all three branches under a unified two-star command, which reports to the Chief of Defence Staff.^[1] This model fosters joint training, shared intelligence, and integrated cyber response capabilities, as evidenced by the establishment of service-specific Cyber Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) in the Army, Navy, and Air Force by 2021, which feed into DCA's overarching framework.^[19] Such integration aims to mitigate stovepiped structures inherited from individual services, promoting a doctrinal shift toward network-centric warfare in cyberspace.^[24] The personnel mix emphasizes operational readiness through cross-postings and joint exercises, though exact breakdowns by service remain classified; reports indicate balanced contributions to align with the agency's mandate for comprehensive cyber situational awareness and response.^[1] This tri-service approach, operationalized fully by 2021, supports India's broader military reforms under the Chief of Defence Staff framework, enhancing interoperability against evolving cyber threats from state actors.^[3]

Responsibilities and Capabilities

Defensive Cyber Operations

The Defence Cyber Agency (DCA) conducts defensive cyber operations to safeguard the Indian Armed Forces' networks, information systems, and critical infrastructure from cyber threats, including intrusion detection, threat mitigation, and resilience enhancement.^[1]^[2] These operations integrate personnel and capabilities from the Army, Navy, and Air Force to monitor and respond to adversarial cyber activities targeting military assets.^[1] The agency's defensive mandate emphasizes proactive measures such as vulnerability assessments and secure configuration management to prevent disruptions during conventional or hybrid warfare scenarios.^[2] A primary mechanism for honing defensive capabilities is through simulated training exercises that replicate real-world attack vectors, including distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attempts, malware infiltration, and advanced persistent threats.^[25] In June 2025, the DCA organized Exercise Cyber Suraksha, a multi-phase national-level drill involving over 100 participants from tri-service units and partner organizations.^[25]^[26] The exercise, which ran from June 16 to June 27, 2025, focused on testing analytical skills, reinforcing secure operational practices, and evaluating response protocols under simulated high-intensity cyber scenarios.^[25]^[27] DCA intends to conduct such defensive exercises periodically to sustain operational readiness and foster a culture of cyber hygiene across the armed forces.^[25] These activities complement broader national cyber defense frameworks by prioritizing military-specific threats from state actors, such as those originating from neighboring adversaries with demonstrated cyber espionage capabilities.^[1] Through these operations, the DCA aims to minimize downtime and data compromise, ensuring continuity of command, control, and communications in contested digital environments.^[2]

Offensive Cyber Operations

The Defence Cyber Agency (DCA), established in 2019 as a tri-service organization under the Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff, holds primary responsibility for coordinating India's military offensive cyber operations, including network breaches, surveillance, and disruption of adversary systems.^[2]^[1] Comprising approximately 1,000 personnel drawn from the Army, Navy, and Air Force, the DCA integrates offensive capabilities to support conventional military actions, focusing on targets such as enemy command-and-control networks and critical infrastructure.^[21]^[1] India's doctrinal foundation for offensive cyber operations is outlined in the 2017 Joint Doctrine of the Indian Armed Forces, which identifies cyberspace as a domain for offensive actions alongside defense, and further elaborated in the 2024 Joint Doctrine for Cyberspace Operations, emphasizing synchronized offensive-defensive integration across services to enable real-time threat response and deterrence.^[2]^[28] These doctrines prioritize "threat-informed planning" and offensive measures for strategic deterrence, authorizing actions like cyber sabotage against adversaries, particularly in hybrid warfare scenarios involving Pakistan and, increasingly, China.^[29]^[2] Offensive capabilities have been demonstrated in operations targeting Pakistani networks, with confirmed cyber sabotage potential noted by former national security advisors, including surveillance of IP addresses since around 2010 and retaliatory intrusions post-major incidents like the 2008 Mumbai attacks.^[2] A notable example is Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7, 2025, amid India-Pakistan tensions following a Kashmir terrorist attack on April 22 that killed 26 civilians; DCA-led efforts reportedly involved infiltrating Pakistani websites, gaining remote access to over 1,000 CCTV cameras, and broader network disruptions as part of escalated cyber rivalry.^[30] These actions leverage techniques such as hacking encrypted communications and deploying honey traps, though public details remain limited due to classification.^[1]^[30] Development of these capabilities draws on India's IT sector strengths but faces constraints in resources and inter-agency coordination with entities like the National Technical Research Organisation, which handles strategic-level operations.^[21] Expansion toward countering Chinese threats is ongoing, reflecting geopolitical shifts, yet operational maturity lags behind defensive postures.^[2]^[21]

Key Exercises and Operational Activities

The Defence Cyber Agency (DCA) conducts regular cyber defense exercises to simulate adversarial threats, test response mechanisms, and integrate tri-service capabilities in defensive and analytical operations. These activities emphasize hands-on training in threat detection, mitigation, and resilience-building for military networks and critical infrastructure.^[31] A primary initiative is the annual 'Cyber Suraksha' exercise, a multi-phased national-level drill organized under the Integrated Defence Staff. Launched on June 16, 2025, and concluding on June 27, 2025, it involved over 100 participants from defense stakeholders and national agencies, featuring targeted training, evaluations, a Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) conclave with expert talks, and table-top scenarios in a gamified environment to reinforce secure practices and defensive skills against simulated real-world attacks.^[31] ^[32] The 2024 iteration, held from May 20 to 24, focused on comprehensive cyber defense readiness, evaluating operational protocols amid rising threats from state actors.^[33] In May 2023, following reported Chinese-linked intrusions into servers such as those at AIIMS, the DCA executed a week-long exercise to fortify digital infrastructure resilience, incorporating vulnerability assessments and coordinated response drills across services.^[34] These exercises underscore the agency's role in proactive capacity-building, though public details on offensive operations remain limited due to classification, with emphasis placed on defensive posture enhancement and inter-agency collaboration.^[1]

Challenges and Criticisms

Readiness and Capability Gaps

The Defence Cyber Agency (DCA), established in 2019, has encountered significant readiness gaps stemming from insufficient specialized personnel and training frameworks. Unlike established cyber forces in peer competitors, the DCA lacks a dedicated cadre of cyber specialists, relying instead on on-the-job training for personnel drawn from conventional military roles, which results in inadequate proficiency against sophisticated threats. This contributes to a broader national shortage of cybersecurity experts, estimated at around 500,000, limiting the agency's ability to scale operations effectively.^[35] Capability deficiencies are evident in the DCA's constrained doctrinal scope, primarily focused on defensive cybersecurity for armed forces networks rather than integrated offensive or strategic cyber warfare. The absence of a comprehensive cyber doctrine—beyond the defensive-oriented National Cyber Security Policy of 2013—hinders proactive deterrence, with limited intelligence on adversary military vulnerabilities and no formalized offensive mandate, leaving gaps in countering advanced persistent threats from state actors like China and Pakistan. Real-time threat detection and response remain weak, as demonstrated in simulations where networks falter under modest loads of around 100 threats, underscoring the need for automated, scalable defenses.^[35]^[36]^[35]^[37] Technological and organizational hurdles further exacerbate these issues, including heavy reliance on foreign-sourced hardware and software, which introduces supply chain vulnerabilities, and structural ambiguities in tri-service coordination that impede unified command from headquarters to field levels. The DCA's limited integration with civilian agencies restricts holistic national cyber defense, while persistent resource allocation challenges delay maturation against evolving threats. These gaps render the agency's overall preparedness inadequate for high-intensity conflicts, necessitating urgent investments in indigenous tools, specialized training via gamification, and doctrinal evolution.^[35]^[38]^[39]^[37]

Inter-Service Coordination and Resource Constraints

The Defence Cyber Agency (DCA), established in 2019 as a tri-service organization under the Chief of Defence Staff, was intended to unify cyber operations across the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force by coordinating defensive and offensive capabilities. However, inter-service coordination remains hampered by entrenched silos, with each branch maintaining independent cyber units that prioritize service-specific priorities over joint operations. This fragmentation leads to duplicated efforts and inconsistent threat intelligence sharing, as evidenced by ongoing doctrinal ambiguities in integrating cyber assets during joint exercises.^[40]^[29] Efforts to overcome these barriers, such as multi-phase cybersecurity drills launched in June 2025 involving all services, highlight persistent gaps in command authority and operational interoperability. The DCA's limited mandate restricts its ability to enforce unified protocols, resulting in slower response times to cross-domain threats and suboptimal resource pooling. Analysts note that even mature cyber commands, like the U.S. Cyber Command, grapple with similar inter-service rivalries, underscoring the structural challenges in India's defence ecosystem where service loyalties often supersede integrated imperatives.^[32]^[40] Resource constraints exacerbate these coordination issues, with the DCA facing chronic shortages in specialized personnel and funding amid India's broader defence budget pressures. Skills deficits in areas like advanced malware analysis and AI-driven threat detection persist, as the agency relies on seconded personnel from the services who lack dedicated cyber training pipelines. Allocated resources, subsumed within the Ministry of Defence's overall cyber outlay, have not scaled sufficiently to match escalating threats, with reports indicating inadequate investment in indigenous tools and infrastructure.^[21]^[41] These limitations are compounded by overlapping mandates with civilian agencies like the National Cyber Coordination Centre, diluting the DCA's focus and straining limited budgets estimated to be under 1% of the total defence expenditure as of 2024-25. Without dedicated funding mechanisms or expanded recruitment of civilian cyber experts—estimated at a shortfall of thousands in qualified roles—the agency's ability to build resilient, joint capabilities remains curtailed, potentially undermining deterrence against state-sponsored adversaries.^[42]^[21]

Strategic Role and Impact

National Security Contributions

The Defence Cyber Agency (DCA) enhances India's national security by integrating tri-service cyber capabilities to safeguard military networks against state-sponsored threats, particularly from adversaries like China and Pakistan. As the central entity for military cyber command and control since its full operationalization in 2021, the DCA oversees defensive measures that protect critical defense infrastructure, including signal interception and rapid response to espionage attempts.^[2]^[15] This includes establishing dedicated Cyber Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) in the Army, Navy, and Air Force to mitigate state-level intrusions, enabling coordinated threat detection and neutralization across services.^[15] Offensively, the DCA supports proactive operations to disrupt enemy cyber activities, as evidenced by its reported role in initiatives like Operation Sindoor, which targeted Pakistani networks amid escalating India-Pakistan cyber rivalries in 2025.^[30] Such capabilities allow India to impose costs on aggressors, deterring hybrid warfare that combines cyber attacks with conventional threats along borders.^[21] These efforts contribute to broader national resilience, aligning with India's achievement of Tier 1 status in the Global Cybersecurity Index 2024, where military cyber hardening plays a foundational role in countering pervasive attacks on defense sectors.^[43] Through exercises like 'Cyber Suraksha' launched on June 16, 2025, involving over 100 personnel, the DCA simulates multi-domain threats to refine interoperability and response protocols, directly bolstering wartime cyber readiness.^[26] This tri-service framework addresses vulnerabilities in digitized military operations, reducing risks from malware and network breaches that could compromise command structures during conflicts.^[1] Overall, the DCA's operations fortify India's strategic deterrence in cyberspace, where empirical data shows India facing among the highest volumes of targeted attacks globally, thereby preserving operational integrity against asymmetric threats.^[19]

Geopolitical Context and Adversarial Threats

India's geopolitical positioning in South Asia and the Indo-Pacific exposes its defense infrastructure to persistent cyber threats from state adversaries, particularly China and Pakistan, amid ongoing territorial disputes and strategic rivalries. The 2020 Galwan Valley clash with China escalated cyber operations, with Chinese state-sponsored actors conducting espionage against Indian military and critical sectors, including attempts to disrupt power grids in Mumbai in October 2020 and subsequent incidents in 2022 and 2024. These attacks align with China's broader cyber doctrine, which integrates offensive capabilities into grey-zone tactics to assert dominance without kinetic escalation, as evidenced by a 150% surge in Chinese cyber espionage globally in 2024, disproportionately targeting India.^[44]^[45]^[46] Pakistan, often acting in concert with China, poses ancillary but kinetically linked cyber risks, leveraging proxy hacker groups for disruption during military flare-ups. In April 2025, Pakistan-based actors attempted intrusions into four Indian defense-affiliated facilities, focusing on military networks amid heightened border tensions. Claims by Pakistani entities of paralyzing 70% of India's power grid via cyber means in May 2025 were unsubstantiated and likely propagandistic, yet they highlight the integration of cyber tools into hybrid warfare, including DDoS attacks and disinformation campaigns targeting over 100 Indian entities.^[47]^[48]^[49] Such operations, attributed to groups like the Pakistan Cyber Army, exploit attribution challenges to maintain plausible deniability while eroding India's operational readiness.^[30] The Defence Cyber Agency operates within this context to safeguard tri-service networks against these threats, prioritizing attribution-resistant defenses amid India's asymmetric cyber posture relative to adversaries' advanced persistent threats (APTs). Approximately 83% of Indian organizations, including defense entities, faced cyber incidents from Chinese or Pakistani sources between 2020 and 2025, underscoring the need for integrated countermeasures. Escalatory risks persist, as cyber intrusions could misfire into conventional conflict, particularly given collusive China-Pakistan activities in sub-threshold domains.^[50]^[51]^[52]

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