G20 Summit: Agencies on alert against cyber attack by hackers in Delhi

The agencies are keeping a close watch on hackers backed by Pakistan and pro-“Khalistani” outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ).

Multiple agencies are working round the clock to ensure that cyber attackers do not disrupt the G20 Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi next week by attacking event’s main website, or the critical information infrastructure, people familiar with the development said.

CRPF personnel maintain a vigil near the IGI airport on Wednesday. (Sanjeev Verma/HT photo)

The agencies are keeping a close watch on hackers backed by Pakistan and pro-“Khalistani” outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), which are already at the vanguard of an effort to spread disinformation about the Summit.

The people cited above said the Computer Emergency Response Team or CERT-In, National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC), I4C (Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre), Delhi Police, Intelligence Bureau (IB), Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), National Investigation Agency (NIA), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and other agencies and ministries are, individuals and together, scouring the dark-web and social media platforms, and using dedicated teams and experts to identify vulnerabilities in the G20 cyber-security apparatus to avoid ransomware, phishing, denial of service attacks during the event.

“Big events such as G20 are always susceptible to cyberattacks with an aim to damage the image of the Summit or the host country. But foolproof cybersecurity has been created and every activity is being watched. We ere even ready to foil technically advanced hacking attacks such as entering the security systems or accessing the CCTV footage of the G20 event and meeting venues,” said a person who is part of the cybersecurity team of G20 who spoke on condition of anonymity. Some G20 Summits in the past have been targeted by hackers.

For instance, a spear phishing attack took place around the Paris G20 Summit in February 2011, with phishing emails and malware attachments sent to French ministry of finance officials with an aim to access classified G20 documents. In June 2017, the Hamburg G20 Summit was targeted by hackers. The G20 meeting in Brisbane, 2014, saw the private data of G20 attendees being leaked.

A second cybersecurity official involved in the preparations for the Summit said a major campaign is being run by Pakistani spy agency ISI to defame New Delhi.

A cybersecurity company, Innsight, which works with several Indian agencies, has, in last few months, given three reports revealing Pakistan’s role against New Delhi G20 Summit, which are being studied by the agencies.

“Innsight’s Geo Analysis identified Anti G20 Propaganda coming from Pakistan through social media, in form of hashtags and online campaigns,” one of the reports, reviewed by HT, stated.

SFJ, banned by the ministry of home affairs (MHA), has also been sending mass emails to people against the summit.

Tarun Wig, co-founder Innsight, said: “We are working closely with the government during G20. India’s systems are segregated, and multiple agencies and ministries are involved in the cybersecurity risk assessment and management, so possibility of physical impact of (any cyber attacks) is very less”.