Malicious programmes tried to cut off power supply: Cyber Cell
Maharashtra Energy Minister Dr. Nitin Raut on Wednesday said the Cyber Cell in its report said attempts have been made to classify or remove approximately 8 GB of data from suspicious Internet Protocol addresses into the State Load Dispatch Center's (SLDC) cyber server. In his statement on the Cyber Cell probe into October 12, 2020 power breakdown in Mumbai, Dr. Raut said it has been observed that such attempts to log in to the cyber server of the SLDC from a particularly suspicious and blacklisted Internet Protocol address (IP Address) abroad, hacking the system, will be disruptive. Such Internet Protocol addresses have been certified by major credit rating agencies as suspicious and malicious.
Even though the Union Minister RK Singh has ruled out the possibility of cyberattack by China which led to blackout, Dr. Raut cited the Cyber Cell report which said 14 Trojan horses, known as malicious programmes, entered the computer system of MahaVitaran electricity board and tried to cut off the power supply. Some of those Trojan horses have already carried out similar major cyberattacks in the world.
These Trojan horses have been found to easily enter the firewalls of information technology (IT) & Operational Technology (OT) Servers, which are required for power supply.
Further, Cyber Cell said the firewall of the server at the SLDC at Kalwa was found to be easily accessed by suspicious malicious codes and software programmes that could compromise the cybersecurity ecosystem as well as disrupt the design functionality. Three alarms were delivered from the IT system in less than a minute. However, this was not taken into account, indicating the possibility of a cyberattack.
Dr. Raut told the assembly that "Cyber cell recommendations are extremely important. However, the state government has also received the reports of the other committees in connection with the incident of October 12, 2020. The reports make recommendations for empowering the Mumbai transmission system, adopting state-of-the-art technology.’’