Publication

India and Pakistan have been regional rivals ever since they achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1947. They compete militarily and economically and this regional rivalry has manifested itself through provocations, skirmishes and open conflicts. Both states have integrated new technologies in their strategies extending their regional rivalry to cyberspace. This Hotspot Analysis examines the dynamic of the India-Pakistan regional rivalry in cyberspace. Both states have developed cyber capabilities and are using them primarily to spy on the other. Cyberespionage campaigns seem often poorly coordinated and unsophisticated. However, the lack of sophistication in cybertools did not prevent advanced persistent threats likely sponsored by India or Pakistan from achieving their strategic goals. At a lower level, non-state actors such as hacktivists and patriotic hackers used cyberspace to promote their patriotic sentiments. Such actions increase the risk of misperceptions in cyberspace and escalation of the rivalry to physical conflict.