While computers in these organizations haven’t been hacked, a vulnerability in the modems they use may have allowed outsiders access to information, the Indian Infosec Consortium said.
“About 3,000 Internet connections in Delhi are compromised, including that of defense, CBI, election officers. They are being accessed using servers abroad. We have shared a detailed report with Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal who has promised prompt action,” IIC cyber security analyst Jiten Jain told PTI.
The list includes the Ministry of Defense at South Block, the Deputy Secretary of the Cabinet Secretariat at Rashtrapati Bhawan, the Chief of Naval Staff in C-Wing at South Block, the Air Force Communication centre at Vayu Bhawan, the zonal officer of the Controller of Defense Accounts at Delhi Cantonment, and the Directorate of Income Tax (Investigation) at Jhandewalan.
Some connections at the office of public telecom firm MTNL were also compromised.
Jain said the consortium has also submitted a report to security agencies for immediate action and correction of their systems. Over 99 per cent of the 3,000 connections surveyed by IIC were possible victims of snooping.
IIC is a group of 20,000 cyber security experts pitching to become the first line of cyber defense for India and develop indigenous cyber security products.
The researchers said they believe the threat emanates from vulnerability due to technical settings in modems imported and sold by most Indian telecom operators.
“All of the devices included in the research were imported. I have not seen Indian telecom operators providing modem or routers of any Indian company. All of them are made by foreign companies, which is making systems vulnerable and susceptible to espionage,” Jain said.-PTI
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