Major Indian missile and armament systems might have been compromised, as Chinese hackers reportedly broke into top secret files of the Indian Defence Ministry and embassies around the world, said a report.
Among the systems leaked out could be Shakti, the just introduced advanced artillery combat and control system, and the country’s new mobile missile defence system, called the Iron Dome.
A report called ‘Shadow in the Clouds’ by Canadian and American researchers, based at the University of Toronto, said that a spy operation called ‘Shadow Network’ based out of China tapped into top secret files of the Indian government.
In the investigations conducted over eight months, the report claimed that systematic cyber espionage was carried out from servers located in China that “compromised” government, business, academic and other computer network systems in India.
The report found that Indian government related entities, both in India and throughout the world, had been thoroughly compromised. These included computers at Indian embassies in Belgium, Serbia, Germany, Italy, Kuwait, the United States, Zimbabwe, and the High Commissions of India in Cyprus and the United Kingdom. “These include documents from the offices of the Dalai Lama and agencies of the Indian national security establishment,” the report said.
“Data containing sensitive information on citizens of numerous third-party countries, as well as personal, financial, and business information, were also exfiltrated and recovered during the course of the investigation.”
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“Recovery and analysis of exfiltrated data, including one document that appears to be encrypted diplomatic correspondence, two documents marked ‘SECRET’, six as ‘RESTRICTED’, and five as ‘CONFIDENTIAL’. These documents are identified as belonging to the Indian government,” it added.
These documents contain sensitive information taken from a member of the National Security Council Secretariat, concerning secret assessments of India’s security situation in Assam, Manipur, Nagaland and Tripura, as well as concerning the Naxalites.
In addition, they contain confidential information taken from Indian embassies regarding India’s international relationship with and assessments of activities in West Africa, Russia/Commonwealth of Independent States and the Middle East, as well as visa applications, passport office circulars and diplomatic correspondence.
China rejects allegations
China on Tuesday dismissed reports that Chinese hackers broke into top secret files of the Indian Defence Ministry and embassies around the world, saying that it was firmly opposed to hacking and regards it as an international crime.
“We have been hearing frequently these kind of news and I do not know the purpose to stir up issues,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu said. “Some people spread some information regarding the so-called China hacking activities. On this issue, our policy is very clear and we are firmly opposed to all kinds of hacking activities through internet,” she said. “Hacking is an international crime and all nations should join hands to deal with hacking crimes.”