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The wire agency UNI is reporting that India’s National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) and the UK Government in collaboration with BAE Systems successfully conducted the Cyber Security Exercise for 26 Countries as part of the International Counter Ransomware Initiative- Resilience Working Group being led by India.
The exercise has been facilitated by BAE Systems via the Immersive Labs platform, and the scenario has been written specifically for the participants based on Threat Intelligence and operational experiences.
“The theme of the exercise is based on Energy Sector in which the respective National Cyber Crisis Management Teams of the CRI Partner Nations will have to deal with a ransomware attack on multiple electricity distribution companies,” an NSCS statement said.
These companies are responsible for the distribution of electricity to domestic customers and are the last link to the public supply. The exercise explores the complexity of decision-making around response to ransomware on Critical National Infrastructure, the statement added.
There are over 26 invitees, from CRI Partner Nations and their respective organisations; including Cyber Security, National Crisis Management, National Security Policy, Critical National Infrastructure, and Law Enforcement Agencies.
The aim to organise this virtual Cyber Exercise on Ransomware Resilience is to simulate a large, wide-spread cyber security incident affecting organisations within a country.
This exercise has been designed to support the mission of the CRI, and aims to allow participating CRI Members to test their capability to respond to a major ransomware incident;
It also aims to demonstrate the benefit of sharing information and collaborating during a major incident, provide opportunities for the CRI Nations to share their approaches to countering ransomware.
Ransomware is a type of malware used by hackers to encrypt valuable data on a device making the files and systems that use the data unusable by the individual or organization and holding it for ransom until they pay to decrypt it.
These malicious actors threaten to sell or leak the data if the ransom goes unpaid. Such ransomware attacks can happen to any organization but they are becoming more frequent in the energy and utilities sector.
Notably, there has been a massive rise in the cyber attacks on Indian platforms even as India’s internet base continue to widen.
The number of incidents of cyber attacks on Indian government platforms has grown from 5461 incidents in 2016 to 48285 incidents in 2021, government informed Parliament during the Budget Session this year.
Government is taking various steps to build capacities and enhance skills in Cyber Security.