Monday, February 9, 2026
ADVT 
India

Did North Korean Hackers Hurt ISRO's Chandrayaan-2?

Darpan News Desk IANS, 08 Nov, 2019 10:04 PM

    At the time the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was trying to land Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft's Vikram lander on the Moon, suspected North Korean hackers might have attacked the space agency, the Daily Mail reported on Friday.

     

    The ISRO was one of five government agencies to come under their attack, said the report, adding that officials denied that the attack impacted the Moon mission.


    Employees are feared to have accidentally installed malware on to their systems after opening phishing emails from North Korean spammers.


    According to a report in the Financial Times, ISRO was warned of the cyber attack during the Chandrayaan-2 moon mission in September.


    Experts believe the attack was conducted using DTrack, a type of malware linked to the Lazarus group which is believed by the US authorities to be controlled by the North Korean government.


    According to cybersecurity firm Kaspersky, the malware has been detected in financial institutions and research centres in 18 Indian states.


    The reports on cyber-attack on ISRO came after the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) last week confirmed the presence of malware in its system at the Kudankulam nuclear plant, which has been traced to North Korea's DTrack.


    In a press statement, the NPCIL said "identification of malware in NPCIL system was correct" but added that the "infected PC" belonged to a user "who was connected in the internet connected network used for administrative purposes".


    It said the infected PC "has been isolated from the critical internal network" and that the "networks are being continuously monitored".


    Explaining about Dtrack, Kaspersky's Security Researcher Konstantin Zykov, in a recent event in Delhi, had said: "The large amount of Dtrack samples we found demonstrated that Lazarus is one of the most active APT (Advanced Persistent Threat) groups, constantly developing and evolving threats in a bid to affect large-scale industries and seeking to evade detection."


    "Their successful execution of Dtrack RAT proves that even when a threat seems to disappear, it can be resurrected in a different guise to attack new targets."


    ISRO lost contact with its Vikram lander during the last stage of the Moon landing operation on September 7, minutes before it was due to land near the South Pole of the Moon.

    MORE India ARTICLES

    Hurriyat Leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, 6 Others Sign Bonds To Secure Release

    Senior separatist leader and Hurriyat Conference Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq is among the detained leaders who have furnished a bond to the authorities to seek their release.    

    Hurriyat Leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, 6 Others Sign Bonds To Secure Release

    Not Every Kashmiri Potential 'Stone-Pelter': Mehbooba Mufti's Daughter

    Iltija Mufti attacked the Narendra Modi-led government for holding her mother and other state political leaders under preventive detention.  

    Not Every Kashmiri Potential 'Stone-Pelter': Mehbooba Mufti's Daughter

    Pak Knows Our Capability, Thought Our Leadership Won't Act: IAF Chief Birender Singh Dhanoa

    Pakistan always underestimated India's national leadership and they did the same during the Balakot air strikes, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa said on Friday.    

    Pak Knows Our Capability, Thought Our Leadership Won't Act: IAF Chief Birender Singh Dhanoa

    Ratul Puri's Judicial Custody Extended Till October 3 In Bank Fraud Case

    The court had on September 3 sent Ratul Puri to judicial custody in the case after his 14-day custodial interrogation ended.

    Ratul Puri's Judicial Custody Extended Till October 3 In Bank Fraud Case

    Corporate Tax Cut Trends As Indian FM Nirmala Sitharaman Announces Tax Bonanza

    As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a lowering of the corporate tax rate for domestic companies to 22 per cent on Friday, hashtags like #CorporateTaxCut, #Sensex have been trending since morning.

    Corporate Tax Cut Trends As Indian FM Nirmala Sitharaman Announces Tax Bonanza

    Big Friday For India Inc, GST Council Cuts Rates On Various Items

    The key sectors which would benefit from GST rate cuts are hotels, gems & jewellery, defence and automobiles.    

    Big Friday For India Inc, GST Council Cuts Rates On Various Items