Mumbai-like blackout? Chinese hackers attempt to block power supply in Telangana

New Delhi : Amid reports of a Chinese hackers conspiracy behind the blackout in Mumbai last year, now Chinese hackers have attempted to blackout in Telangana, just like Mumbai. However, due to the alert of the Computer Emergency Response Team of India, this attempt of Chinese hackers has been thwarted.

According to the information, Chinese hackers tried to hack TS Transco and TS Genco Power Systems of Telangana. TS Transco and TS Genco are the major power utilities of Telangana.

Investigation has revealed that Chinese hackers wanted to disrupt the power supply. They also wanted to steal the data here. Realizing this threat, Genco blocked the suspected IP address and changed the user data of officers and power grids working from remote locations. A new study has revealed that since mid-2020, at least 12 organizations, initial power stations and computers at load dispatch centers have been targeted by the Chinese hackers group. These hackers have tried to spread malware to these computers so that the services can be disrupted on a large scale.

According to a study by Recorded Future, an American company that monitors Internet usage, NTPC, 5 Regional Load Dispatch Centers and two ports are among the hacking attempts made by Chinese hackers so far.

The report states that it appears that these hacking activities started in May 2020, before the start of the conflict between Indian and Chinese troops on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh. Since the middle of 2020, there has been a rapid increase in the use of a special software by Chinese organizations to target India’s power sector.