India Hacked, Part II: Cyber Warfare -- The New Battlefield

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.theindiasite.com/india-hacked-part-ii-cyber-warfare-the-new-battlefield/

By Ulrik McKnight
The India Site
Sep 15, 2011

In Part I of India Hacked, The Extent of the Compromise, we explored the 
extensive hacking of corporate and political India. In Part II we 
examine the national security implications of this trend.

State-Level Hacking

China has repeatedly been found to use its expertise as a cyber-power to 
access highly confidential information relating to the national security 
of other nations, including India. India should take note, not only 
because of its historically contentious relationship with China, but 
also because of China’s undeniably close ties with Pakistan, a country 
that continues to sponsor terror across India.

Just as armies fight on land, and navies at sea, national cyber-forces 
now fight in the online world. Cyber warfare is the new battlefront. But 
it is a battle that India, like many countries, is ill-equipped to wage. 
This has left the country under-defended against sustained, damaging 
state-level attacks.

The renowned virus hunter Mikko Hypponen told The India Site: “We’ve 
traced most of the cases of hacking against India not to Pakistan, not 
to Russia, not to anywhere else, but to China.”

China has a large cyber army and also uses a network of patriotic and 
mercenary hackers that allows the state to deny responsibility. China 
has extensive control over its Internet, leading many to take for 
granted that these attacks are government sanctioned. That being said, 
many countries conduct cyber-espionage, and attributing attacks can be 
difficult. Looking at who benefits from the espionage offers a good 
indication of who may be responsible.

[...]

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