Retaliatory attacks in India Surge Lockdown
Retaliatory attacks in India Surge Lockdown
Author : VIBHISHEK YADAV
Banning of Chinese apps is a digital strike. In today’s modern arena, no country can afford physical wars thereby war can be waged in the form of trade relations, cyber and potentially with a supply chain conflicts. India government banned 59 Chinese apps including the most popular “Tiktok” as well as “UC Browser”. Due to the security lapse, experts had warned of cyber security threats. There would be a greater scrutiny of device makers, companies and apps with exposure to china .Several Intelligence departments are preparing themselves for intensified cyber security attacks. Few weeks ago, Twitter reported that 130 accounts on twitter were targeted in cyber-attack of prominent personalities like Kim kardashian, Barack Obama, Elon Musk, and Joe Biden. In 2020, there’s an ongoing military standoff between China and India.
India and China shares 3488km long boundary. And unfortunately the entire boundary is disputed. This is known as McMahon line. After the war, the boundary which came into existence was called as line of Actual Control (LAC) it is a military held line. As per the reports, Government agencies, media and many of the large companies would be affected and potentially be the target of cyber attack by hacking groups of China. Direct flights between India and china started in the year 2002. Maharashtra Cyber Security cell told that India has been targeted with more than 40,300 cyber attacks in last five days. These attacks can be furthermore divided into three categories such as denial of service, hijacking and phishing. Emerging trade indicates that India and China both will try to remain competitive in the global and economic domain. In 1950 a peaceful co-existence led both the countries with flowery relations. The contentious boundary issue arose again in which Indian Army lost their 20 soldiers in a fight in Galwan Valley on 15 June 2020. Chinese soldiers were also dead around 43 in number still yet not confirmed by the army. Both the nations are maintaining their bilateral mechanisms through quiet diplomacy. The telecom sector was vastly affected due to this as several actions were taken on the economic front including cancellation and additional scrutiny of certain contracts with Chinese firms. Multiple reasons have been cited for these skirmishes. Ministry of External Affairs of India said that their troops were ambushed with dammed rivulets which were thrown by Chinese troops. After 2013 treaty between India and China there was a border defence cooperation agreement in which both the countries cannot use their arms and ammunations at the border. Therefore, Chinese troops used iron rods.
China aims at accessing sensitive information from the government and private sectors as followed by disruption of daily activities as it was seen in the year of 2010 when China’s use of Stuxnet worm to compromise India’s communication satellite which led to the loss of TV signal for many. This paper would highlight both the convergences and divergences in India-China relations. These countries have the legacy of ancient culture and civilisations. India and China both are the most populous country in the world. High risk of cyber attacks in India has led the companies to opt for cyber insurance policies. According to Data Security Council of India has been the second most affected country in the world between 2016-2020. “According to a CISCO Annual Cyber Security Report, 53% of all cyber attacks led to financial damages of more than $500K (including lost revenue, customers, opportunities, and out-of-pocket costs among others) for organisations in 2018.” The Indian government has taken some steps for promoting data protection at a policy level. These are some cyber-attacks which are listed below in India:
- In July 2016 – Union Bank of India Heist
- In May 2017 -Wannacry Ransomware
- In May 2017 – Data theft at Zomato
- In June 2017 – Petya Ransomware
Cyber Criminals steal personal data to affect the operations of e-commerce and finance. Organised hackers use Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) attacks to steal the confidential data of official, national defense and business. Information and security providers have been hacked to lead to damage the trusted supply chain. The open systems and internet are used in critical infrastructures increasingly. That results in the growing of risks. At last I would like to conclude that India was threatened due to various Cyber attacks tried by China and as the situation is critical thereby the country cannot rely. As well as many of the companies are trying to shift their manufacturing unit from china to India. Secrecy facilitates and is augmented by the distinct difficulty of confidently attributing the precise origin of attack and who actually is responsible for authorizing it. We are at an early stage in the practice and study of offensive cyber operations and conflict. The observations, analyses, and speculations offer here are meant to stimulate further analysis and debate, drawing on pertinent analogies from the past, and help scholars and practitioners to shape the future.
Retaliatory attacks in India Surge Lockdown
