Cyberwarfare and New Pathways of Nuclear Escalation: Implications for South Asia

Offensive use of cyber capabilities against critical infrastructure of a state can increase the risks of nuclear escalation, especially in the absence of any norms of behaviour in the cyberspace. The advent of dangerous and undefined pathways of escalation, because of cyberweapons, can further increase the risk of inadvertent and accidental use of nuclear weapons. This paper attempts to explore how cyberattacks increase the risks of escalation in modern warfare?” The capability of cyberattacks to inflict damage in kinetic domain can have both escalatory and de-escalatory implications in a conflict. The rapid digital transformation and linking of critical infrastructure and communication systems with cyberspace have increased their vulnerability to cyberattacks and cyber coercion. Critical infrastructure ranges from health systems, electricity grid houses, and financial systems to conventional and nuclear military infrastructure. The integration of systems with cyberspace has blurred the lines of warfare and any attacks originating in the cyber domain can spill over into other domains of warfare including nuclear.