Scorpene submarines documents leak case of hacking: Manohar Parrikar
The leak of documents detailing the secret combat capabilities of India’s Scorpene-class submarines was a case of hacking, defence minister Manohar Parrikar said on Wednesday, amid growing concern in the defence establishment over the episode.
His comments came a day after Australian media reported a leak of 22,400 pages that enumerate the submarines designed by French shipbuilder DCNS for the Indian Navy.
Parrikar told news agency ANI he was informed of the leak around 12am Wednesday. “The first step is to identify if it’s related to us, and anyway it’s not all 100% leak,” the minister told ANI. “It is a case of hacking.”
India has ordered six Scorpene-class submarines in a deal worth $3 billion. The first of the submarines built at the Mazagon Docks in Mumbai began sea trials in May.
The leak could prove to be a bonanza for India’s maritime rivals Pakistan and China, the Australian media report said.
The Indian Navy in a statement said on Wednesday that it appears that the source of leak is from overseas and not in India, reports ANI.
A number of other countries operate a variant of the Scorpene or have ordered the submarine, including Malaysia, Chile and Brazil, the report added.