Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, IAF Chief Air Marshal V.R. Chaudhary said that it is imperative to re-imagine, reform, redesign and rebuild our traditional war-fighting machinery amid a new emerging paradigm. “As the world becomes more interconnected, a cyber attack on our networks can cripple command and control systems,” he said.
This statement comes after China launched “probing cyber attacks” on the power grid in strategically-located Ladakh. The hacking group reportedly used the trojan ShadowPad, which is believed to have been developed by contractors for China’s ministry of state security, leading to the conclusion that it was a state-sponsored hacking effort.
Chaudhary said: “In the next war, the enemy might not be a country or an organisation, we may never know the perpetrators. Future warfare will be hybrid—from computer viruses to ultrasonic missiles. Attacks can range from military standoff to information blackouts”.
So, how exactly can we quantify the cyber threats that India is facing? Nandakishore Harikumar, the founder and CEO of cyber security start-up Technisanct, headquartered in Bengaluru, called for a consolidated effort to build out strategies on multiple levels. Technisanct conducts Digital Risk Monitoring and Risk Posturing using AI, and specialises in research in the fields of deep and darkweb. Technisanct has conducted responsible disclosures of data breaches related to organisations like Malindo Airways and Tamil Nadu Public distribution systems.
“These kind of attacks [like what happened in Ladakh] have been continuously happening, fully focused on supply chains,” he said. “Take an example. Air India had reported a breach recently, where Chinese hackers attacked a vendor [and pilfered data]. They [the hackers] like to disrupt supply chain, coordinating through multiple networks. It is not just about one vulnerability—Chinese hackers are known to be adept at exploiting a lot of the zero day vulnerabilities that keeps popping up.”
So, who are the people actually conducting the cyberattacks? “It is easy to identify that they originate from a Chinese network, but other details are not fully known. They operate very secretively. They are known for continuous attacks on logistics infrastructure, and their way of operation is highly targeted, industry-focused and sector-specific. That is how they work. This pattern is highly visible in the Ladakh incident.”
