HYDERABAD: A China-based hacking group tried to attack the Telangana State Load Dispatch Centre (SLDC) of the TS Transco. After the Central government’s Computer Emergency Response Team of India (CERT-In) alerted the TS Transco of the cyberattack, the latter took all preventive measures to thwart it.
In a release issued on Tuesday, TS Transco said CERT-In alerted it saying: “A China-based threat group command and control servers are trying to communicate with systems belonging to the SLDC, TS Transco. Advised to take suitable precautionary measures to ensure security of the power system.”
TS Transco blocked the attackers’ IP addresses and temporarily disabled the control function, which facilitates remote operation of circuit breakers from the SLDC. It also changed the user credentials of the officials accessing the TSSLDC website as a preventive measure and isolated vulnerable equipment within the perimeter of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) — the facility which controls devices of remote sites — “to ensure safety of grid and satisfactory power supply to all consumers”.
This attempted cyberattack comes in the light of a report by US-based company Recorded Future, which said the China-linked groups were targeting the Indian power sector. According to its report, “10 distinct Indian power sector organisations, including four or five regional load dispatch centres (RLDC) (of which the TSSLDC is a part of)... have been identified as targets in a concerted campaign against India’s critical infrastructure.”
Recorded Future also pointed out that infiltration of RLDCs had very few opportunities in terms of economic espionage activities. The report stated that such attacks are a message of ‘show of force’, to influence public opinion during diplomatic confrontation and to support destructive cyber operations against critical infrastructure.
India’s power infra under threat?
This attempted attack comes in the light of a report by US-based company Recorded Future that said China-linked groups were targeting the Indian power sector. According to its report, “10 Indian power sector organisations, including regional load dispatch centres... have been identified as targets in a campaign against India’s infrastructure”