Indian Government websites on Radar, Cyber threat from China concerns Indian security agenicies

New Delhi: Indian security agenicies worried after United States Department of Justice revealed five Chinese hackers who charged for targeting US companies were involved to target the Indian government networks and websites.

Recently, the US government alleged claimed that the hackers targeted 100 plus companies in the United States and abroad, including software development companies, computer hardware manufacturers, telecommunications providers, social media companies, video game companies, non-profit organizations, universities, think tanks, and foreign governments, as well as pro-democracy politicians and activists in Hong Kong.

The Department investigation highlights how the Chinese hackers systemically conspiring to hack Indian computer networks including other countries. This comes ahead of escalated tensions at the LAC in Ladakh.

According to the investigation, security researchers have tracked using the threat labels “APT41,” “Barium,” “Winnti,” “Wicked Panda,” and “Wicked Spider,” facilitated the theft of source code, software code signing certificates, customer account data, and valuable business information, says the Department of Justice (DOJ).  These intrusions also facilitated the defendants’ other criminal schemes, including ransomware and “crypto-jacking” schemes, the latter of which refers to the group’s unauthorized use of victim computers to “mine” cryptocurrency.

A senior official deployed in Indian Security establishment, “There is an urgent need for Indian law enforcement agencies to investigate the leads and file prosecution against Chinese and North Korean hackers.”

The conspirators had said to be installed “Cobalt strike” malware on Indian government-protected computers, it added.