Redefining combatants Updated: Updated: April 06, 2021 22:48 IST Cyberattacks point to the need to rethink what constitutes a force and what a justified response can be Share Article Representational image. | Photo Credit: Reuters Cyberattacks point to the need to rethink what constitutes a force and what a justified response can be A report in The New York Times on the October 2020 breakdown of the Mumbai power distribution system points a finger at Chinese cyber hackers. While the truth may remain hidden, the discussion points to a macro issue. When, and under what conditions, would a non-kinetic strike, say a cyberattack, be considered an attack on the state? And under international rules of self-defence, what response would be considered legal? Would only a cyber counter-attack be justifiable or a kinetic response also be acceptable? Would a pre-emptive strike be kosher? These and other questions are knocking at our door, even as the definition of combat and combatants undergoes fast mutation.