While the world was struggling against the Corona Virus, New Delhi and Beijing were locked in a standoff for ten months which even claimed many lives from both sides. Now both the giants have agreed to disengagement but every day new facts are rattling up the security agencies.
According to a report drafted by Recorded Future, a Massachusetts-based company Hackers backed by the Chinese government were behind the many cyber attacks on Indian websites. The company studies the internet usage by the state actors. Recorded Future noticed a spike in the suspected targeted intrusion activity against Indian organizations from suspected Chinese government-backed groups since early 2020. However, a noticeable increase was seen after the Ladakh standoff.
The report says there were over 40000 cyber-attacks made on Indian Power Grids, IT Firms, and Banking Sector systems within 5 days.
It is also believed that the ‘RedEcho’ Chinese Hackers Group was behind the blackout in Mumbai in October last year.
Indian cyber experts have expressed serious concerns over the use of Shadowpad malware for targeting Indian entities.
It is also claimed that some of the hacker groups are backed by the Chinese State Security Ministry and the People’s Liberation Army. At least 10 distinct power sector organizations, NTPC, 5 regional load dispatch centers, and 2 significant seaports were the prime targets of the RedEcho group. Apart from these, many other government and defense organizations were on their radar.
On the other hand, the power ministry claims that they were alerted timely about the potential threat and they were successful in averting serious damage.
Were Indian Vaccine Companies the target?
Cyfirma has made solid claims backed by extensive research and monitoring that Chinese hacker group Stone Panda tried to break through the Indian Vaccine Companies software and websites.
Cyfirma is the cyber branch of reputed Goldman Sachs. According to a report by the firm, Chinese hacking group Stone Panda targeted Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech’s supply line and IT software. Both the companies are developing Corona Vaccines and getting acclaim for safer and quality products. It is believed that the hackers wanted to steal confidential & sensitive information related to the corona vaccines.
Indian Government’s Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) was quick to respond and it took over the investigation of both companies’ websites. It is speculated that the servers of the vaccine companies were vulnerable to the cyber attack.
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It is to be noted that no system is a hundred percent secure however, most countries have a quick response team and proactive cybersecurity measures to safeguard the national interests.
