GS3 2017 Q9 10 marks 150 words Cyber Security
UPSC Mains 2017 GS3 Q9 — Cyber Security
Discuss the potential threats of Cyber attack and the security framework to prevent it. (Answer in 150 words)
Question Decoded — examiner's intent
- Directive verbs
- Discuss
- Scope keywords
- potential threatsCyber attacksecurity frameworkprevent it
- Implicit sub-parts
- Classification of threats based on actors (State vs Non-state) and targets (Critical Information Infrastructure vs individual data).
- Critical evaluation of the existing institutional and legal framework in India.
- Identification of specific gaps or 'vulnerabilities' that necessitate a stronger framework.
- Common pitfalls
- Spending too much space on definitions of 'cybercrime' instead of 'threats' like Ransomware, APTs, or Zero-day exploits.
- Mentioning only IT Act 2000 while ignoring recent developments like CERT-In guidelines, NCIIPC, or the National Cyber Security Policy.
- Failing to distinguish between generic internet crimes and strategic national security threats to power grids or nuclear plants.
- Omitting the international/diplomatic dimension of cyber security frameworks.
- Dimensions required
- National SecurityLegal/RegulatoryInstitutional/OrganizationalTechnological/InfrastructureInternational Cooperation
- Marks allocation hint
Allocate roughly 60-70 words to categorize and describe modern cyber threats (4-5 marks) and 70-80 words to outline the multi-layered security framework (5-6 marks), ensuring the introduction and conclusion are integrated into these sections to stay within the 150-word limit.
Unlock the full analysis for this question
You've seen the question and its examiner-intent decoding. Subscribers also get:
- 🔗 Similar Previous Year Questions — cross-year, cross-paper matches so you study the topic, not the question
- 📚 Source Map — verified citations from Laxmikanth, NCERT, PRS, Yojana, Economic Survey, Spectrum
- 🌱 How this topic is evolving — current-affairs bridge anchored to live TARS news clustering
- 🧭 Examiner's Pattern — how the topic has been framed across every year UPSC has tested it
- ✍️ Answer Skeleton — a structured outline (intro → body → conclusion) you can flesh out
- 🎯 AI evaluation — write your answer, get rubric-based scoring from gs-eval
Or browse 132+ free preview questions across all years and papers — the first 3 questions of every paper are unlocked.
Ready to practice?
Subscribers can attempt this question in 150 words and get an instant, rubric-based evaluation showing where they stand.
Subscribe to evaluate your answer →