The Indian defence establishment has sounded a fresh red alert over the need to ensure cyber security of classified information after renewed online espionage and hacking attempts emanating from China.
Among the threats identified, the alert warns that an "advanced persistent threat" group named 'Suckfly', which is based in Chengdu region of China, has stepped-up cyber espionage attempts against Indian security and commercial establishments.
Having stolen certificates from legitimate South Korean software firms, Suckfly is apparently using them as a cover for its cyber attacks through malware like 'Backdoor.Nidiran'. Incidentally, the Chengdu region also houses the headquarters of the new western theatre command of the People's Liberation Army, which is tasked to handle the entire Indian front from Ladakh to Arunachal along the 4,057-km Line of Actual Control.
Chinese hackers have been regularly attacking and sometimes successfully infiltrating security and commercial computer networks in India, as also other countries like the US, the UK and Germany.
TOI had reported last week that Chinese cyber espionage group Danti had possibly breached several computers of top-ranking bureaucrats in Delhi and elsewhere, as per cyber security company Kaspersky Labs.
Incidentally, India still does not have a tri-service cyber command, which was proposed by the chiefs of the staff committee over three years ago to deal with the escalating threats in a unified manner. Instead, the government is planning the creation of a much-smaller Defence Cyber Agency (DCA) as interim arrangements till full-fledged commands come up.
Among the threats identified, the alert warns that an "advanced persistent threat" group named 'Suckfly', which is based in Chengdu region of China, has stepped-up cyber espionage attempts against Indian security and commercial establishments.
Having stolen certificates from legitimate South Korean software firms, Suckfly is apparently using them as a cover for its cyber attacks through malware like 'Backdoor.Nidiran'. Incidentally, the Chengdu region also houses the headquarters of the new western theatre command of the People's Liberation Army, which is tasked to handle the entire Indian front from Ladakh to Arunachal along the 4,057-km Line of Actual Control.
Chinese hackers have been regularly attacking and sometimes successfully infiltrating security and commercial computer networks in India, as also other countries like the US, the UK and Germany.
TOI had reported last week that Chinese cyber espionage group Danti had possibly breached several computers of top-ranking bureaucrats in Delhi and elsewhere, as per cyber security company Kaspersky Labs.
Incidentally, India still does not have a tri-service cyber command, which was proposed by the chiefs of the staff committee over three years ago to deal with the escalating threats in a unified manner. Instead, the government is planning the creation of a much-smaller Defence Cyber Agency (DCA) as interim arrangements till full-fledged commands come up.