Details of the Cyberattacks
#GS III #Science and Technology
Topic – Science and Technology
∙Context:
∙The delicate underbelly of our fast expanding digital networks has been exposed over the past few weeks. An elite university in India called the All India Institute of Medical Sciences was the
target of the first ransomware attack on servers. Almost 40 million health records were compromised when the systems eventually went online more than two weeks later. Soon after, the
parent firm of Solar Industries Ltd, one of the Ministry of Defence’s suppliers of ammunition and explosives, was broken into by the ransomware group BlackCat, and more than 2 Terabyte of
data were taken.
∙About:
∙Cyberattacks are unauthorised attempts to gain access to computer systems with the goal of stealing, disclosing, altering, disabling, or destroying data.
∙Often, ransomware-seeking organisations conduct such assaults to disable networks after encrypting data. Organizations are the targets of demands, which are routinely discussed and
subsequently satisfied without alerting law police.
∙Cyberterrorism is typically defined as any planned, politically motivated attack on information systems, programmes, and data that either threatens or actually causes violence.
∙India has seen an increase in cyberattacks because of:
∙dependence on technology is growing As technology advances quickly, more and more services are moving online to improve usability and accessibility.
∙The disadvantage of this tendency is that it increases the susceptibility of such systems to hacking.
∙For instance, if hackers are successful in accessing a nation’s energy, financial, or nuclear networks, there is fear of severe harm and loss.
∙The post-COVID era’s greater reliance on digital technology has exposed digital inequalities that must be eliminated through improving competence.
∙Modern methods are used by terrorists to spread their message and create hatred online.
∙inefficiency of the legal action taken India has so far taken an ad hoc and disorganised approach to cyber security.
∙Despite the existence of several organisations, laws, and programmes, their execution has fallen short.
∙relations with China are tense: One of the leading countries in the world for information technology is China. Hence, it should be able to partially or completely disrupt information
technology services in other countries.
∙It is projected that because of the ongoing border stalemate and the bloody battles between their
troops, the two nations’ relations will worsen to the point where they start attacking each other’s vital information infrastructure.
∙Asymmetrical covert conflict Cyberwarfare is clandestine and has the advantage of plausible denial, which allows governments to deny involvement even after they are revealed. This
contrasts with traditional fighting, which causes casualties and face-to-face conflicts.
∙Similar to this, a tiny country with cutting-edge technology and knowledgeable soldiers can battle a stronger foe without worrying about suffering significant losses.
∙Nation-to-nation conflict has thus shifted more and more online.
∙Global agreement and cooperation in this area are lacking as a result of a lack of international coordination.
∙Both the general public’s poor level of digital literacy and the digital divides across nations contribute to an unsustainable online environment.
∙People are allegedly readily tricked into reading information that frequently contains viruses by click-baiting, it has been claimed on occasion.
∙Observe these guidelines to reduce cyberattacks:
∙Cyber preparedness: By using this strategy as a guide, institutes will be urged to raise their level of cyber readiness and be able to hone their abilities in a variety of fields, such as collaboration,
precise attribution, and forensics.
∙monetary preference To ensure that cyber security measures don’t continue to have the lowest priority, several ministries must spend considerable funds.
∙Why a national cyber security strategy is necessary All industries’ businesses ought to pay attention to this disaster and tighten their cyber security protocols. It is also crucial to advertise
and promote the national cyber security policy.
∙expanding capacity In order to defend against the increasingly sophisticated threats and attacks, CERTIn and the National Critical Information Infrastructure Centre (NCIIPC) must improve their capabilities. Moreover, sectoral CERTs must be established for a variety of industries, including the healthcare sector.
∙international collaboration Beyond GGE meetings, the 37-nation Counter Ransomware Initiative
(CRI) led by the US, and the European Union, international cooperation on thwarting
cyberattacks has to develop more clout.
