Late last week, there were reports doing the rounds that hackers based out of neighboring China had managed to break into the servers of India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

While the reports quoted unnamed MEA sources as confirming that no sensitive information had indeed been touched by the hackers, the incident has clearly set alarm bells ringing through the ministry that is believed to be in the process of dispatching teams to ensure future security of their computer systems.

What is even more alarming is that while the latest incident involves hackers who’re suspected to be from China because their IP addresses are traceable back to that country, sources also revealed that this isn’t the first time MEA servers have been hacked neither are the Chinese the only people trying to hack into sensitive information. Apparently, hackers from across the globe, including those from the US and Europe have been actively trying to penetrate the ministry’s computer systems for the past five years or so.

Luckily this time around, no sensitive information has been stolen but MEA servers typically store all kinds of strategic information including exchanges between headquarters and missions on sensitive issues and policy matters. The reports quoted sources saying that despite regular checks and revision of security measures, the problem of hacking continues, looking nowhere near being solved.

As for China, just last year, the Chinese government itself was accused of hacking into the systems of the US Pentagon. Although China denied involvement saying Beijing was against cyber crime

Information Source: Techtree.com