Amidst the border tension between India and China, a Chinese government-linked group of hackers targeted India's critical power grid system through malware, a US company has said in its latest study, raising suspicion whether last year's massive power outage in Mumbai was a result of the online intrusion.
Recorded Future, a Massachusetts-based company that studies the use of the internet by state actors, in its recent report details the campaign conducted by a China-linked threat activity group RedEcho targeting the Indian power sector.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government has took cognizance of the report. The massive power outage in Mumbai in October last year was caused by a cyberattack" and it was an act of "sabotage", Maharashtra Energy Minister Nitin Raut said on Monday, citing preliminary information.
Interacting with media persons outside the Vidhan Bhavan , Raut said the state government, the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC), and the Central Electricity Authority had set up separate committees to probe the cause of the power outage and their reports have been received.
As per the preliminary report submitted by the Maharashtra Cyber Cell, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said there is evidence that suggests there might have been a cyber-sabotage attempt. The report has been handed over to Raut.
For the uninitiated, on October 12 last year, a grid failure in Mumbai resulted in a massive power outage, stopping trains on tracks, hampering those working from home amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and hitting the economic activity hard.
(With input from agencies)
