If we had to believe FireEye Inc, a US-based cyber security
firm, hackers based in China are now targeting India to steal information about
its border disputes and diplomatic intelligence.
The relationship between these two countries once broke in
1962 when both of them fought with each other over border issues. However, the
situations between these countries have become a bit cool when Modi government
came in power.
It is also said that the hackers were also active a month
before the PM Modi visit to China.
Now, it seems the cyber threat would make the thing worse as
it was before.
As per the company, an advanced campaign over the past four
years has targeted more than 100 people, 70 percent of whom are in India.
Earlier this year it identified a decade-long cyber espionage operation against
businesses and governments in Southeast Asia.
“These attacks on India and its neighbouring countries
reflect growing interest in its foreign affairs,” Bryce Boland, FireEye’s chief
technology officer for Asia Pacific, said in the statement.
Along with the Indian institutions, the hackers also
targeted Tibetan activists and others in Southeast Asia, in particular
government, diplomatic, scientific and educational organizations, the security
company said.
According to a news report published in The Financial Times,
the hackers sent so-called spear phishing e-mails with Microsoft Word
attachments appearing to relate to regional issues. Those messages contained a
script which would create a “backdoor” in infected machines, allowing access to
programs without detection by security measures.