India on high risk of cyber attacks after Operation Sindoor-OxBig News Network

The department of telecommunications (DoT), along with the telecom operators are evaluating measures to enhance telecom security infrastructure in border and sensitive areas, according to officials.

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Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), under the ministry of electronics and IT (Meity) has issued advisories to high risk stakeholders such as banks and financial institutions informing of the cyber attack risks and the need to strengthen their systems, a government official said.

Queries emailed to CERT-In, telecom operators and DoT, on Wednesday, did not initiate a response.

India launched targeted missile strikes on nine sites in Pakistan and Occupied Kashmir in the early hours of Wednesday in an operation codenamed “Sindoor” in retaliation of the Pahalgam terror attacks.

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Since the Pahalgam attacks, there have been numerous attempts to hack Indian websites and change their content or appearance, the official added.

On Tuesday, minister of state for communications Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani also acknowledged that Pakistan has been attempting to hack cyber networks in India.

“DoT is actively reviewing network security measures. Monitoring has been intensified in sensitive regions, and telecom operators have been issued directives to strengthen security protocols,” a second government official said, adding that the home affairs ministry has also issued directions.

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According to industry executives, lawful interception and real-time surveillance capabilities, prevention of mobile signal spillover into neighbouring countries, and monitoring of unauthorized roaming connections near the borders, are among key steps that can be taken.

“With cloud infrastructure holding vast amounts of sensitive data, cyber domains are now the first lines of attack and in the coming years cyber sabotage could be as damaging as a missile strike,” said Rakesh Bhatnagar, director general at Voice of Indian Communication Technology Enterprises (VoICE), which represents domestic telecom equipment makers and solution providers.

According to Bhatnagar, Chinese telecom, power equipment, drones, SIM cards with their chips and operating systems can play havoc during war. “We need to be prepared based on our security considerations.”

Dhiraj Gupta, co founder of cybersecurity provider mFilterit, said, “In a military context, cyber attackers employ sophisticated tactics beyond conventional ransomware attacks, aiming to disrupt and destabilize enemy systems, create panic, or embarrass the adversary’s government.”

“Expected attack vectors include Denial of Service (DoS) attacks that crash websites by overloading them, defacement attacks that alter content for showing off the hackers capabilities, and stealthy intrusions to gather sensitive intelligence from government systems that usually go unnoticed and are a more serious risk than any other form of attack,” Gupta added.

Cyber experts caution that not just the large public and private entities but individual systems and devices are also prone to cyberattacks as a part of parallel cyber warfare that is going on with the cross border attacks.

“It is the responsibility of threat intelligence teams to monitor the dark web closely, track hacker chatter and identify vulnerabilities before they’re exploited,” said Prasanna Kumar, co-head of Financial Services and Professional Group (FSPG), India, Aon, a professional services provider.

“Based on our observation, cyber attackers are no longer targeting just individual corporations, they’re focusing on entire systems of unpatched devices, posing a serious threat not just to governments and businesses, but to every connected individual,” Kumar added.

Kumar said attackers are focusing on critical infrastructure which can disrupt public utilities, leading to a challenging environment for people. “Public infrastructure like electricity, internet, and mobile networks are modern lifelines and when disrupted, the impact is immediate and widespread,” he said.

Another top cyber security consultant, suggested companies take action to tighten their line of defence against possible cyber attacks.

“After the Pahalgam attack, amid the tension between the two nations, Pakistani hackers have been actively trying to attack government websites, specifically on the northern front of India,” said the head of forensics and cyber security at a top consulting firms, requesting anonymity.

This could be seen in Pakistani hackers defacing Rajasthan’s education department website in a cyber attack last week, he said, adding that after the latest attacks by India, “we will continue to see specific targeted attacks on Indian digital infrastructure and the cyber security industry will be operating on high alert at least for the next two-three weeks”.

“To mitigate the risk, Indian companies need to bolster their digital defence by assessing vulnerabilities, having a response plan in place, and closely monitoring network activity and the dark web for potential threats. With the situation likely to escalate, vigilance and preparedness are crucial to mitigate potential cyber risks,” this person said.