Chinese Hackers Made 2 Attempts To Hack Electricity Distribution In Ladakh, Confirms Govt

The government confirmed that two attempts were made by Chinese hackers to disrupt electricity distribution centres near Ladakh. However, the hackers were not successful in their mission. Earlier, a report by Bloomberg claimed that Chinese hackers have launched a cyber-espionage attack against the Indian power sector in Ladakh. The report also said that the hackers focused on at least seven “load dispatch” centres in Northern India.

Confirming the cyberattack attempt made by Chinese hackers, RK Singh, Union Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy told ANI, “Two attempts by Chinese hackers were made to target electricity distribution centres near Ladakh but were not successful… We’ve already strengthened our defence system to counter such cyber attacks.”

Threat intelligence firm Recorded Future in its report claimed that one of the load dispatch centres has previously been a target of another hacking group called RedEcho, which “strongly overlaps” with a hacking group that the US has tied to the Chinese government.

Also read: Chinese Hackers Collected Intel From Power Grid Near Ladakh: Report

“The prolonged targeting of Indian power grid assets by Chinese state-linked groups offers limited economic espionage or traditional intelligence gathering opportunities,” the cyberthreat intelligence firm told Bloomberg.

The Chinese Ministry for Foreign Affairs or any other Chinese government agency hasn’t responded with a statement over these cyberattack attempts. Bloomberg in its report said that Beijing has consistently denied involvement in malicious cyber activity.

Apart from this, the hackers are also believed to have compromised an Indian national emergency response system and a subsidiary of a multinational logistics company, the report said. The hacking group has been named TAG-38 and it has used a malicious software that is called ShadowPad, which has also been associated with the Chinese government, according to the cyber intelligence firm.

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