Post-Ladakh Clash, Chinese Hackers Attack Indian Entities; Central Ministries Targeted as Well

New Delhi: Chinese hackers are targeting India in the wake of the recent bloody clash between troops of the two countries in eastern Ladakh’s Galwan Valley, in which 20 Indian and an unspecified number of Chinese soldiers lost their lives, Business Today has reported. Also Read – North Korean Hackers May Target India on June 21 With COVID-19 Phishing Emails

The report quoted by Singapore-based cyber threat intelligence firm Cyfirma Research, which said that hackers have been targeting multiple Indian businesses, central ministries and media organisations in the wake of the June 15 clash. Also Read – Delhi Cyber Experts Warn of Hackers Luring Victims Through COVID-19 Information, Targetting Google Docs to Steal Passwords

The External Affairs Ministry, Defence Ministry, I&B Ministry, Reliance Jio, Airtel, BSNL, Micromax, Cipla, Sun Pharma, MRF and L&T are some of the entities have been targeted by Chinese hackers thus far, the firm claimed. The aim of the cyber attack, it said, is to ‘tarnish’ the reputation of these entities by spying on sensitive information, including trade secrets. Also Read – Hackers Release ‘Jailbreak’ Tool to Unlock iPhone, Install Any Software on iOS

The three central ministries stated above have been particularly targeted by the hackers, the firm further said.

In a statement, it said, “In the hackers’ conversations, internet protocol (IP) addresses were shared and discussed. Our analysis of these IP addresses attributed Gothic Panda and Stone Panda to be behind these potential hacking campaigns. These are two prolific hacking groups with close association with the Chinese government.”

While Gothic Panda has a record of targeting strategic sectors like defence, aerospace, telecom, transportation, manufacturing etc., Stone Panda, on the other hand, has been actively involved in stealing supply chain information.

Cyfirma further claimed that while India has become the top target post the border clash, the two groups have also targeted countries like Canada, Japan and Brazil. It is to be noted here that Canada and Japan are two other countries with whom China has been having issues of late.