Indian networks were hacked same day as Google: Narayanan

London: Outgoing national security advisor MK Narayanan has confirmed that Government of India computer networks came under hostile Trojan attacks, almost certainly from Chinese hackers, on 15 December 2009, the same date that US defence, finance and technology companies, including Google, reported cyber attacks from China.

Image: University of Tennessee at Martin UT

Speaking to British newspaper The Times Narayanan said the would-be hackers sent an e-mail with a PDF attachment containing a Trojan virus. The virus, which would have allowed hackers to download or delete files, was detected and officials were told not to log on until it was eliminated.

"People seem to be fairly sure it was the Chinese. It is difficult to find the exact source but this is the main suspicion. It seems well founded," he told the newspaper.

This was not the first instance of an attempt to hack into our computers, Narayanan said.

He also said India was cooperating with the US and Britain to bolster its cyber defences.

On other issues he said though China remained a high security priority for India, Pakistan-based terror groups still remained the main threat to India.