Page 17 - The Indian EYE 052821

OPINION MAY 28, 2021 | The Indian Eye 17

nities for cyber criminals. ida to tamper with the chemi- in their services. as periodic review of cyberse-
The various components cal levels in the drinking water Ransomware poses risks to curity program budgets. Ba-
used to monitor the flow of supply of the city. The hacker critical infrastructure beyond sic cyber security hygiene like
gases through the pipelines, had gained access to the wa- the energy infrastructure. In multi-factor authentication,
for instance, like pressure sen- ter system through the control 2020, over 500 incidents of ran- ready-to-implement response
sors, valves, thermostats and system of the water treatment somware attacks in the US on plans, and up-to-date backup
pumps, are mostly controlled plant using a remote access pro- healthcare facilities, for instance, systems can minimise the im-
by centralised computers sys- gram. The hacker then tried to were detected. These attacks pact of cyber-attacks on critical
tems. Interconnected systems increase the levels of sodium took advantage of the prevail- infrastructure.
and networks are vulnerable to hydroxide to dangerous levels. ing pandemic situation, which
malicious attacks and in turn The attack was detected by a makes victims more prone to Debopama Bhattacharya is
can affect the functioning of the supervisor monitoring the com- extortion. The source of a ran- Project Assistant at Manohar
pipelines. puter system who reversed the somware attack is the hardest Parrikar Institute for Defence
According to a report by Sie- chemical levels as soon the hack to trace since cyber criminals Studies and Analyses
mens, 18 per cent of the global was detected, averting a crisis. use automated attack tools and Views expressed are of the
utilities sector use high technol- Data theft and ransomware further demand the extortion
ogy like AI and big data analysis. are some of the most typical amount in cryptocurrencies. author and do not necessarily
Colonial Pipeline, for instance, threats faced by the utilities in Cyber-related risks to the reflect the views of the Manohar
also uses high technology in- the critical infrastructure sec- energy sector can be mini- Parrikar IDSA or of the
Government of India.
spection robots, controlled tor. Such attacks result in loss of mised by strategic intelligence
digitally, that check for anoma- productivity, revenue and dis- gathering on potential threat This is the abridged version
lies if any. Such assets increase ruption of utility services. The actors, weaving of cyber secu- of the article which appeared
the number of potential entry Spanish electric utility, Iberdola, rity strategies into corporate first in the Comment section
points through which malicious Brazilian oil company, Petro- decisions, industry-wide col- of the website (www.idsa.in) of
attacks can take place. bras, among others have been laboration and sharing of in- Manohar Parrikar Institute for
In February 2021, an attempt victims of ransomware in the telligence data, investments in Defense Studies and Analyses,
was made by a hacker in Flor- past causing major disruptions cybersecurity controls as well New Delhi on May 20, 2021

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