"Still Fighting The Last War": Reasons Behind India's Cybersecurity Issues

Introduction

The Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard is often credited with coining the dictum "life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards". This quote is sometimes translated into military speak as "fighting the last war" – in other words, building intelligence and capabilities to combat a threat that has already faded in its potential to do harm.

Today, this philosophy echoes throughout law-making and on-ground compliance. In India, regulations historically lag behind business innovations, and regulators find themselves playing catch-up from one crisis to the next. Indian industry and businesses also suffer from having to adhere to laws and practices that remain rooted in the past and which do not possess the requisite flexibility and nuance to be future ready.