#FactCheck: AI Generated audio of CDS admitting that Pakistan Army is superior than Indian Army.

Introduction

Ransomware is one of the serious cyber threats as it causes consequences such as financial losses, data loss, and reputation damage. Recently in 2023, a new ransomware called Akira ransomware emerged or surfaced. It has targeted and affected various enterprises or industries, such as BSFI, Construction, Education, Healthcare, Manufacturing, real estate and consulting, primarily based in the United States. Akira ransomware has targeted industries by exploiting the double-extortion technique by exfiltrating and encrypting sensitive data and imposing the threat on victims to leak or sell the data on the dark web if the ransom is not paid. The Akira ransomware gang has extorted a ransom ranging from $200,000 to millions of dollars.

Uncovering the Akira Ransomware operations and their targets

Akira ransomware gang has gained unauthorised access to computer systems by using sophisticated encryption algorithms to encrypt the Data. When such an encryption process is completed, the affected device or network will not be able to access its files or use its data.

The affected files by Akira ransomware showed the extension named “.akira”, and the file’s icon shows blank white pages. The Akira ransomware has developed a data leak site so as to extort victims.  And it has also used the ransom note named “akira_readme.txt”.

Akira ransomware steeled the corporate data of various organisations, which the Akira ransomware gang used as leverage while threatening the affected organisation with high ransom demands. Akira Ransomware gang threaten the victims to leak their sensitive data or corporate data in the public domain if the demanded ransom amount is not paid. Akira ransomware gang has leaked the data of four organisations and the size ranges from 5.9GB to 259 GB of data leakage.

Akira Ransomware gang communicating with Victims

The Akira ransomware has provided a unique negotiation password to each victim to initiate communication. Where the ransomware gang deployed a chat system for the purpose of negotiation and demanding ransom from the affected organisations. They have deployed a ransom note as akira_readme.txt so as to provide information as to how they have affected the victim’s files or data along with links to the Akira data leak site and negotiation site.

How Akira Ransomware is different from Pegasus Spyware

Pegasus, developed in the year 2011, belongs to one of the most powerful family of spyware. Once it has infected, it can spear your phone and your text messages or emails. It has the ability to turn your phone into a surveillance device, from copying your messages to harvesting your photos and recording calls. In fact, it has the ability to record you through your phone camera or record your conversation by using your microphone, it also has the ability to track your pinpoint location. In contrast, newly Akira ransomware affects encrypting your files and preventing access to your Data and then asking for ransom n the pretext of leaking your data or for decryption.

How to recover from malware attacks

If affected by such type of malware attack, you can use anti-malware tools such as SpyHunter 5 or Malwarebytes to scan your system. These are the security software which can scan your system and remove suspicious malware files and entries. If you are unable to perform the scan or antivirus in normal mode due to malware in your system, you can use it in Safe Mode. And try to find a relevant decryptor which can help you to recover your files. Do not fall into a ransomware gang’s trap because there is no guarantee that they will help you to recover or will not leak your data after paying the ransom amount.

Best practices to be safe from such ransomware attacks

Conclusion

The Akira ransomware operation poses serious threats to various organisations worldwide. There is a high need to employ robust cybersecurity measures to safeguard networks and sensitive data. Organisations must ensure to keep their software system updated and backed up to a secure network on a regular basis. Paying the ransom is illegal mean instead you should report the incident to law enforcement agencies and can consult with cybersecurity professionals for the recovery method.

Introduction

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In real-time warfare scenarios of this modern age, where actions occur without delay, the relevance of edge computing emerges as paramount. By processing data close to the source in the battlefield with the help of a drone or through video imaging from any military vehicle or aircraft, the concept of edge computing allows the military to point targets faster and strike with accuracy. It also enables local processing to relay central data, helping ground troops get intelligence inputs to act rapidly in critical mission scenarios.  

As the global security landscape experiences a significant transformation in different corners of the world, it presents unprecedented challenges in the present scenario. In this article, we will try to understand how countries can maintain their military capabilities with the help of advanced technologies like edge computing. 

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Edge Computing in Modern Warfare

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Edge computing involves the processing and storage of data at the point of collection on the battlefield, for example, through vehicles and drones, instead of relying on centralized data centers. This enables faster decision-making in real-time. This approach creates a resilient and secure network by reducing reliance on potentially compromised external connections, supporting autonomous systems, precision-based targeting, and data sharing among military personnel, drones, and command centers amidst a challenging environment.

A report released by the US Department of Defence in March 2025 found a crucial reality surrounding the operation of hardware relying on outdated industrial-age processes in the digital era. In the case of applications with video, edge computing helps to deliver significant advantages to a wide range of crucial military operations, which include: 

• Situational awareness with real-time data processing that provides improved battlefield visibility and proper threat detection. 
• Autonomous warfare systems such as drones, which use a tactical edge cloud computing to get the capability to navigate faster. 
• Developing a strong communication and networking capability to secure low-latency communication for troops to stay connected in challenging environments. 
• Ensuring predictive maintenance with the help of effective sensors to carry out edge detection and attrition at an early point, thereby reducing equipment failures. 
• Developing effective targeting and weapons systems to ensure faster processing to enable precision-based targeting and response, besides a strong logistics and supply chain that can provide real-time tracking to improve delivery accuracy and resource management. 

This report also highlighted that the DoD is rapidly updating its software and investing in AI enablers like data sets or MLOps tools. This also stresses the breaking down of integration barriers by enforcing MOSA (Modular Open Systems Approaches), APIs (Application Programming Interface), and modular interfaces to ensure interoperability across platforms, sensors, and networks to make software-defined warfare an effective strategy.  

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Developing Edge with Artificial Intelligence for Future Warfare

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A significant insight from the work of the US Department of Defense is its emphasis on the importance of edge computing in shaping the future of warfare. In that context, the Annual Threat Assessment Report highlights a key limitation of traditional AI strategies that rely on centralised cloud computing, since these might not be suitable for modern battlefields with congested networks and limited bandwidth. The need for real-time data processing requires a distributed and edge-based AI solution to address contemporary threats. This report also directly supports the deployment of effective edge with AI in a defined, disrupted, intermittent, and limited-bandwidth (DDIL) environment. In that case, when the communication networks fail, the edge servers at the edge of the network offer crucial advantages that cloud-dependent systems cannot. This ability to analyse data and make decisions without consistent connectivity and operate with limited computational resources is a strategic necessity. 

The scenario of warfare is a phenomenon that requires maintaining a strong strategic and tactical approach, which, in the present times, is being examined through the domain of digital platforms. Modern warfare patterns demand faster decision-making and edge computing deliveries by shifting the power of distant servers to the frontlines. The US military is already moving in the direction of deploying edge-enabled systems to prove the nature of sensors and networks to compute at the tactical edge to transform warfighting.

However, it can be understood with the help of an example, as creating fusion in the skies with F-35s. As they have showcased the capability of edge computing by fusing sensor data with MADL (Multi-Functional Advanced Data Link) to create a unified picture, making the squadrons a force multiplier. An example of this was visible when an F-35 relayed real-time tracking data, enabling a navy ship to neutralise a missile beyond its range.

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Conclusion: The Way Ahead 

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As the changing nature of warfare moves towards adopting software-defined systems, where edge computing thrives as a futuristic military technology, it calls for the need for integration across all domains of warfighting. But at the same time, several imperatives do emerge, such as: 

• Developing an open architecture that enables both flexibility and innovation. 
• Ensuring an effective connectivity that actually combines a confluence of legacy systems. 
• Developing interoperability among the systems that can function in synergy with all platforms and can function across all domains. 
• Prioritising edge-native AI development systems, where it is also necessary to ensure the shift to adopting cloud-based AI models to create solutions optimised from the ground up for edge deployment. 
• Investing in edge infrastructure to establish a robust edge computing infrastructure that enables rapid deployment by testing and updating AI capabilities across diverse hardware platforms. Like the way the military training academies in India are developing training infrastructures for training officer cadets or personnel to handle drones and all forms of advanced warfare tactics emerging in this age. 
• Fostering talent and expertise by embracing commercial solutions where software talent could be enabled across the enterprises with expertise in edge computing capabilities and AI. In this case, the role of the commercial sector can help to drive innovations in edge AI, and the only way to move in this direction is by leveraging these advances through partnerships and collaborative efforts. 

Taking the example of the ARPANET, which once seeded the modern internet, edge computing can also help to create a transformative network effect within the digital battlespace. In conclusion, future conflicts will be defined by the speed and accuracy provided by the edge, as nations integrating AI and robust edge infrastructures can hold a strong advantage in the multi-domain battlefields in the future.

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References 

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• https://www.idsa.in/mpidsanews/rk-narangs-article-what-the-regions-first-drone-warfare-taught-us-published-in-the-new-indian-express
• https://latentai.com/blog/software-defined-warfare-why-edge-ai-is-critical-to-americas-defense-future/
• https://www.boozallen.com/s/insight/blog/how-the-us-military-is-using-edge-computing.html
• https://capsindia.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/RK-Narang-3.pdf
• https://www.newindianexpress.com/opinions/2025/May/12/what-the-regions-first-drone-warfare-taught-us
• https://www.maris-tech.com/blog/edge-computing-in-the-military-challenges-and-solutions/#:~:text=In%20modern%20warfare%2C%20decisions%20need,enables%20precision%20targeting%20and%20response ‍
• https://cassindia.com/digital-soldiers/

Over the last decade, battlefields have percolated from mountains, deserts, jungles, seas, and the skies into the invisible networks of code and cables. Cyberwarfare is no longer a distant possibility but today’s reality. The cyberattacks of Estonia in 2007, the crippling of Iran’s nuclear program by the Stuxnet virus, the SolarWinds and Colonial Pipeline breaches in recent years have proved one thing: that nations can now paralyze economies and infrastructures without firing a bullet.  Cyber operations now fall beyond the traditional threshold of war, allowing aggressors to exploit the grey zone where full-scale retaliation may be unlikely. 

At the same time, this ambiguity has also given rise to the concept of cyber deterrence. It is a concept that has been borrowed from the nuclear strategies during the Cold War era and has been adapted to the digital age. At the core, cyber deterrence seeks to alter the adversary’s cost-benefit calculation that makes attacks either too costly or pointless to pursue. While power blocs like the US, Russia, and China continue to build up their cyber arsenals, smaller nations can hold unique advantages, most importantly in terms of their resilience, if not firepower.   

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Understanding the concept of Cyber Deterrence

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Deterrence, in its classic sense, is about preventing action through the fear of consequences. It usually manifests in four mechanisms as follows:

• Punishment by threatening to impose costs on attackers, whether by counter-attacks, economic sanctions, or even conventional forces. 
• Denial of attacks by making them futile through hardened defences, and ensuring the systems to resist, recover, and continue to function. 
• Entanglement by leveraging interdependence in trade, finance, and technology to make attacks costly for both attackers and defenders. 
• Norms can also help shape behaviour by stigmatizing reckless cyber actions by imposing reputational costs that can exceed any gains. 

However, great powers have always emphasized the importance of punishment as a tool to showcase their power by employing offensive cyber arsenals to instill psychological pressure on their rivals. Yet in cyberspace, punishment has inherent flaws. 

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The Advantage of Asymmetry 

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For small states,  smaller geographical size can be utilised as a benefit. Three advantages of this exist, such as:

• With fewer critical infrastructures to protect,  resources can be concentrated. For example, Denmark, with a modest population of $40 million cyber budget, is considered to be among the most cyber-secure nations, despite receiving billions of US spending.  
• Smaller bureaucracies enable faster response. The centralised cyber command of Singapore allows it to ensure a rapid coordination between the government and the private sector. 
• Smaller countries with lesser populations can foster a higher public awareness and participation in cyber hygiene by amplifying national resilience.  

In short, defending a small digital fortress can be easier than securing a sprawling empire of interconnected systems. 

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Lessons from Estonia and Singapore 

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The 2007 crisis of Estonia remains a case study of cyber resilience. Although its government, bank, and media were targeted in offline mode, Estonia emerged stronger by investing heavily in cyber defense mechanisms. Another effort in this case stood was with the hosting of NATO’s Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence to build one of the world’s most resilient e-governance models. 

Singapore is another case. Where, recognising its vulnerability as a global financial hub, it has adopted a defense-centric deterrence strategy by focusing on redundancy, cyber education, and international partnership rather than offensive capacity. These approaches can also showcase that deterrence is not always about scaring attackers with retaliation, it is about making the attacks meaningless.  

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Cyber deterrence and Asymmetric Warfare

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Cyber conflict is understood through the lens of asymmetric warfare, where weaker actors exploit the unconventional and stronger foes. As guerrillas get outmanoeuvred by superpowers in Vietnam or Afghanistan, small states hold the capability to frustrate the cyber giants by turning their size into a shield. The essence of asymmetric cyber defence also lies in three principles, which can be mentioned as; 

• Resilience over retaliation by ensuring a rapid recovery to neutralise the goals of the attackers. 
• Undertaking smart investments focusing on limited budgets over critical assets, not sprawling infrastructures. 
• Leveraging norms to shape the international opinions to stigmatize the aggressors and increase the reputational costs. 

This also helps to transform the levels of cyber deterrence into a game of endurance rather than escalating it into a domain where small states can excel. 

There remain challenges as well, as attribution problems persist, the smaller nations still depend on foreign technology, which the adversaries have sought to exploit. Issues over the shortage of talent have plagued the small states, as cyber professionals have migrated to get lucrative jobs abroad. Moreover, building deterrence capability through norms requires active multilateral cooperation, which may not be possible for all small nations to sustain. 

Conclusion

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Cyberwarfare represents a new frontier of asymmetric conflict where size does not guarantee safety or supremacy. Great powers have often dominated the offensive cyber arsenals, where small states have carved their own path towards security by focusing on defence, resilience, and international collaboration. The examples of Singapore and Estonia demonstrate the fact that the small size of a state can be its identity of a hidden strength in capabilities like cyberspace, allowing nimbleness, concentration of resources and societal cohesion. In the long run, cyber deterrence for small states will not rest on fearsome retaliation but on making attacks futile and recovery inevitable. 

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References

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• https://bluegoatcyber.com/blog/asymmetric-warfare/
• https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2268&context=jss
• https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/rising-tide-cyberwarfare-battle-between-superpowers-hussain/ 
• https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1243&context=gpis_etds
• https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation?paperid=141708
• https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1243&context=gpis_etds