If you lose your design, you lose everything: Principal Advisor to MoD on cyber confidentiality

New Delhi, April 16: Highlighting the growing significance of cyber security in national defence and industry, Lt Gen (Retd) VG Khandare, Principal Advisor to the Ministry of Defence, stressed that safeguarding proprietary designs is paramount and "if you lose your design, you lose everything."

He was speaking at the international seminar Cyber Warfare 2025: Strategies and Challenges organised by Lisianthus.

"If you look at anybody's design in any industry, that is the most valuable thing. If you lose your design, you lose everything," said Lt Gen Khandare while addressing participants from strategic, industrial, and academic sectors.

He emphasised that both the public and private sectors must treat national and strategic information as confidential. "Anyone in the public or private sector should keep the national information confidential," he noted.

Ahead of this, India's G20 Sherpa, Amitabh Kant, emphasised the growing threat of cyber warfare, describing it as "silent, borderless, and totally anonymous" at the launch of the Cyber Sikshit Bharat initiative in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Kant highlighted that India has seen a significant surge in cyber-attacks, with a 300 per cent increase between 2021 and 2024.

During the G20 summit in September 2023, the website faced over 1.6 million cyber intrusions per minute while attending an international seminar on 'Cyber Warfare 2025: Strategies and Challenges', organised by Lisianthus Tech, a cybersecurity solutions company.

He added that India faces a shortage of trained cyber professionals and that cyber warfare is no longer a fringe concern but needs to be a pillar of India's national security. "India must build not only walls to protect digital borders but also bridges to collaborate with international players," he said.

"We had more than 16 lakh cyber intrusions per minute aimed at the G20 summit website in September 2023," he said.

Cyber Sikshit Bharat initiative is inspired by the Indian government's Viksit Bharat and Cyber Sikshit Bharat missions. This initiative launched by Lisianthus Tech, aims to create a central cybersecurity centre of Excellence in India that focuses on AI-driven security, digital risk management, hardware-based protection, and global policy advocacy.

Appreciating the initiative, Kailash Vijayvargiya, Madhya Pradesh's Urban Development, Housing, and Parliamentary Affairs minister, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership has gained a prominent stand for India in the digital market.

"Cyber-attacks create vulnerability towards such achievements, and therefore, I appreciate such events and initiatives where efforts are made to reach effective solutions against cybercrimes," the minister said.

Led by Lisianthus Tech's founder and CEO Khushhal Kaushik, the programme seeks to empower India's digital infrastructure, train future-ready professionals, and contribute to the creation of a secure global cyber ecosystem.

Reader Comments

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Rahul S.

This is such an important discussion! Our defense designs are our crown jewels. Glad to see top officials recognizing the cyber threat. 🇮🇳 #CyberSecurity

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Priya M.

1.6 million cyber attacks per minute?! That's terrifying. We really need more awareness about cybersecurity at all levels - from schools to corporations.

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Amit K.

While I appreciate the focus on cybersecurity, I wish the article had more details about what common citizens can do to protect themselves. The threat isn't just for governments.

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Sanjana R.

As a computer science student, this makes me want to specialize in cybersecurity! The field is only going to grow more important. Any recommendations for good courses?

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Vikram P.

The numbers are alarming but not surprising. Every major company I've worked with has faced cyber attacks. We need better public-private partnerships on this front.

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Neha T.

Interesting article, but I noticed it repeats the 1.6 million attacks statistic twice. Could use better editing. Otherwise, crucial topic that needs more attention! 🔐

We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.