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Mumbai Power Outage – Chinese Hackers Attacked Indian Power Stations

Mumbai power outage

CyberDaily: cybersecurity news

The State Energy Minister of Maharashtra, Mr. Nitin Raut, has verified the suspicions true that a Chinese cyber-attack was perpetuating the Mumbai power outage back in October 2020 as published in a report by the New York Times(NYT). 

The Mumbai power outage that blacked out the entire city last year, took everyone by surprise, and rightfully so. The massive Mumbai power outage that hit on 12th October 2020 brought the country’s financial capital to a jarring standstill. 

The unexpected power outage shut down the city’s transport lifelines i.e the local trains and impacted the emergency services as well. The stock exchange also stood stagnant for hours to come. Hospitals and emergency service organizations also faced the repercussions of the Mumbai power outage.

NYT reports Mumbai Power Outage:

According to the New York Times (NYT) reports, the Chinese cyberattack to target and suspend India’s electric systems occurred at a time when the two countries were engaged in severe confrontations and face-offs in Ladakh.

When covering the details of the Ladakh battles, the NYT reported that at least two dozen lives were compromised in the conflicts. However, to further sabotage the enemy, China also deployed malware in India’s control systems that manage the power systems supply of the country. The malware was also introduced in a high-voltage transmission substation and a coal-fired power plant.

The report said the circulation of malware was detected by Recorded Future, an American cybersecurity company that specializes in the collection, processing, analysis, and dissemination of threat intelligence. 

According to the company’s reports, most of the malware remained inactivated.

“Since Recorded Future could not access India’s power systems, it could not study the details of the malware itself, which was positioned in strategic power-distribution systems across the country. While it has notified the Indian authorities, so far they haven’t reported the details detections,” adds the NYT report.

Confirming the Mumbai Power Outage:

Mr. Raut had, according to statements reported to media agencies, delivered that he had become inherently suspicious of the large-scale power outage and had promptly organized 3 committees to investigate the matter.

Subsequently, The Maharashtra Cyber Cell was also investigating the matter and put forth a preceding report of the Mumbai power outage.

In a media conference held by Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, he stated that the power outage report documentation has definitely established evidence of cyber-hacking attempts.

“As of now, the report is being investigated by Mr. Nitin Raut”, states the Home Minister.

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