Indian Army personnel advised against opening malicious email titled “Deputation of one Army officer to attend Sri Lanka"

The Indian Army authorities have issued an advisory on an unrelated malicious email infected with a “data stealing malware” — with an attachment “Deputation of one Army officer to attend Sri Lanka," the Indian Express reported.

The email is being received by the personnel of the Indian Army, particularly officers. The officers have been warned against opening this mail.

In November last year, Pune Newsline has reported in detail about how the Army is now pursuing cyber terrorism as a threat which can be even more damaging than the conventional attacks. With almost all sectors — railway networks, communication systems and stock markets, among others — heavily dependent on data communication and storage, experts fear that cyber attack on any of these is capable of causing more damage than the conventional forces. One of the biggest victims of the latest WannaCry ransomware, for example, has been one of Germany’s rail operators.

A senior Army officer from Pune said, “While the Army has a very elaborate cyber security policy, even individual units monitor their own cyber security. The latest advisory, issued on May 13, warns about an email being received from a malicious mail address carrying a tempting attachment — ‘deputation of one Army officer to attend Sri Lanka’. The officers have been warned not to open the mail. This malware is known to be data-stealing software and is capable of stealing vital information in one go. The advisory has been issued to units across India. It must be pointed out that such advisories are issued as and when such threats crop up.”

An Army officer posted at the National Defence Academy (NDA) said, “We have received the advisory from our IT and communication cell. NDA currently goes by cyber security policy of 2016 and such advisories are issued from time to time.”