'Israel IT plus one', Is India ready?

The war in Israel is expected to affect the cybersecurity industry because of a strong concentration of research activity located in the country. Big Israeli cybersecurity companies have moved their headquarters outside the region to the US and Europe. But smaller firms and some aspects of operations of the bigger ones will be affected by the call up to reservists. The Israeli startup ecosystem is built by entrepreneurs and employees with military experience, which will be depleted till hostilities with Hamas rage. In cybersecurity, new product development and funding could be affected till the tension de-escalates. In the larger domain of Israeli tech exports - the country is a research hub for Big Tech - the business dislocation may be less severe, and contingency plans could involve shifting some work to the US, Europe and possibly India.

India has been actively engaged with Israel in cybersecurity, in part due to the latter's capabilities and also due to its own increasing vulnerability to attacks. It is seeking a strategic convergence because cyberthreats, private and state-sponsored, are mostly international. The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Hamas attack have been accompanied by breaches in national cyber defences. India is accelerating its digital infrastructure build-up that needs to be protected in collaboration with foreign governments, private industry and research institutions.

Microsoft reckons India is among the top three countries facing cyberattacks by state actors. The world's largest ITeS sector has been found lacking in critical infrastructure and cybersecurity regulation. The absence of capacity restricts India's role in business contingency planning as a fallout of the war in Israel. More importantly, geopolitical disturbances raise questions on the state of India's digital security preparedness that can be improved through legislation, enforcement structures and a focus on research. India needs to build indigenous capability in cyber defence just as much as it does for the physical variety.