On December 12, 2023, Russian intelligence operatives hacked into Ukraine’s biggest telecommunication network, Kyivstar, and reportedly wiped out data from almost all the systems.
Hyderabad:On December 12, 2023, Russian intelligence operatives hacked into Ukraine’s biggest telecommunication network, Kyivstar, and reportedly wiped out data from almost all the systems. In January 2024, Reuters reported that Russian hackers were inside Kyivstar’s systems for at least a year prior. Nearly 24 million users of the mobile network had stopped receiving sirens and SMS alerts during air raids by the Russian military.
This cyberattack was more than just the ‘biggest and the most severe’. It acted as the most recent example of how wars are no longer just about physical attacks, but about hybrid attacks - both physical and digital.
Amidst rising tensions between India and Pakistan after the Pahalgam attack, where terrorists from the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba killed 26 innocent civilians, the threat to cyberspace becomes a major concern.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle about the safety of websites of the Telangana government, Jayesh Ranjan, special chief secretary, CMO, said that they had been constantly monitoring and updating systems. He said the IT department had been working on preventing attacks ever since the Pahalgam attack.
“We have been working with the government of India, the CERT-In, along with institutes across the country to ensure a cybersafe space. The most prone to these cyberattacks are banks, power substations and defense installations. We have been fully focused on them to make sure no bit of personal data is leaked,” he said.
In the wake of these escalating tensions between the two border-sharing countries, the government has also directed the Centre for Good Governance (TGCGG) to monitor websites, ascertain if there are any threats and rectify and work on them. Speaking of this, TGCGG Director-General Rajendra Nimje said, “We have developed several security layers and have been constantly monitoring all the firewalls. The TGCGG is not taking any cyber threats lightly.”
Adding to this, the TGCGG DG also said, “There is a threat perception, but we are prepared.”
Jayesh Ranjan cautioned that scammers posing as defence officials could target residents. . “There will be a higher chance of people giving into this. We request everyone to stay calm. The biggest weapon to fight a cyberattack is to have people be watchful of any unknown calls or links they are attending to. Hold back and think it through before acting.”
An imminent threat to any country in case of a cyberattack was silence by the operator of the affected systems. Jayesh Ranjan said that soon after a person realises that there has been a cyberattack, they should communicate it with oficials. Not doing so often leads the situation to get worse.
“Cybercrime can be tackled once the pattern is known. To know the pattern, the victim organisation has to communicate with us. When in a war-like situation, the priority should not be the institution’s reputation, or the individual’s, but for the betterment of the country. So always communicate if the institution has been hit by a cyberattack, especially in such critical situations like these,” Mr Ranjan said.
Speaking of one of the main symptoms of a cyberattack: Spreading of fake information, the Special Chief Secretary said that the digital wing of the IT department has been monitoring and working on controlling the spread of any sort of fake information.
