In October 2020, the lights went out in parts of Maharashtra, including Mumbai, the commercial capital of India. Cyber security group Recorded Future alleged that Chinese actors were responsible for the attack. Then around February 2021, Chinese interference was found in the IT systems of Bharat Biotech and Serum Institute, the manufacturers of Covaxin and Covishield, a cyber intelligence firm Cyfirma said.

Cyber activity with Chinese links is especially worrying given the ongoing border tensions. However, China is not alone in snooping around our cyberspace. Elements from Russia, North Korea, Iran and even the USA have been detected. 

In this episode, our reporter Suryatapa Mukherjee spoke to Raman Jit Singh Chima, the Asia Policy Director and Senior International Counsel at Access Now, which is an international digital rights organisation. He discussed the various breaches in our cybersecurity and how India needs to get a handle on this problem as soon as possible.