In the last 5 days, Chinese hackers have attempted to hack over 40,000 cyber-attacks on India’s Information Technology infrastructure and Banking sector.
The ongoing clash between India and China is no secret to the entire world. O June 15th when Chinese PLA troops attacked Indian soldiers in Galwan Valley Line of Action control during the night, the tensions between the two countries begun. That night during the violent face-off Chinese troops have killed 20 of Indian soldiers.
After which Indians in the country and all around the world have started Boycott China movement. On Wednesday Indian Community in Canada also held an anti-China protest outside the consulate office of China in Vancouver.
These cyber-attacks from Chinese hacker groups Gothic Panda and Stone Panda started splurging after the tension rose between the two countries. These 2 Chinese hacker groups have also been said to be linked with the Chinese government.
Maharashtra Cybercrime wing is looking closely into this and has collated information about these attempts and most of them were found to have originated in Chengdu area in China.
Yashasvi Yadav who is the Special Inspector General of Police of the Maharashtra Police’s Cyber wing said that ‘at least 40,300 cyber- attacks were attempted in the last 5 days.’ Most of these attacks caused issues like denial of service, hijacking of Internet Protocol and Phishing. These Chinese Hacker groups have targeted the Indian telecom, pharma, media and ministries. They are targeting Indian entities.
Singapore based Cyber Threat Intelligence firm, Cyfirma Research the companies which are being targeted by these Chinese hacker groups are reliance Jio, Airtel, BSNL, Cipla, Micromax, Sun Pharma, MRF and L&T. the Chinese hackers are targeting these companies to tarnish their reputation and exfiltration of sensitive information and also trade secrets.
Apart from the companies, these hackers have also targeted three Central Government Ministries which includes Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
The hacker group Gothic Panda has a reputation of targeting strategic sectors such as Defence, aerospace, telecom, transportation, manufacturing, construction and engineering whereas Stone Panda is expert in trade secret theft and stealing supply chain information. Both these hacker groups were involved in hacking and targeting organizations in countries like India, Japan, US, Canada and Brazil.
The Chinese hackers were found discussing ways to ‘teach India a lesson’ while attacking Indian companies and authorities. These cyber -attacks were analyzed between June 8 and June 18, but according to experts the intensity of the cyber-attacks increased after the violent face-off between India and Chia at the Eastern Ladakh border.
Government has also been promoting the anti-China sentiments by cancelling government contracts and asking the people to be self-reliant. Indian Railways Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL) became the first government entity to cancel a 470 Crore signaling work contract with a Chinese firm.
The only way to stay safe from these cyber-attacks and emails is through building firewalls. The common public is being asked by the government and media houses to be mindful of the links and attachment coming from various emails ID’s. According to a media report these groups are also targeting public by sending emails with links and offers for various e-commerce websites and people are asked to not open or entertain any such emails.
By Deepika Agarwal
