NIA Investigates Cyberattack on Aerospace Research Firm

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is examining a ransomware attack on the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), India’s leading aerospace research institution, which occurred on November 15 last year. Suspected to be a cyberterrorist attack, the NIA has initiated an investigation into the incident. People familiar with the matter, speaking on the condition of anonymity, disclosed that the federal anti-terror agency has filed a case regarding the ransomware attack, believed to have been orchestrated by the notorious cybercrime group LockBit.

NAL Bengaluru, an affiliate of the government’s Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, stands as the sole government aerospace R&D laboratory in India’s civilian sector. It fell victim to a ransomware attack on November 15, with LockBit threatening to expose stolen data, including classified documents, unless an unspecified ransom was paid. “We have registered a case to investigate the ransomware attack at the NAL from the cyberterrorism angle,” stated an NIA officer.

The NIA operates a specialized anti-cyberterrorism unit tasked with investigating cyber attacks perpetrated by state or non-state actors targeting government and private entities in India. In the past, it has collaborated with other agencies, including CERT-In, during the ransomware attack at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in November 2022. Tarun Wig, an information security expert and co-founder of Innefu Labs, described LockBit as “one of the most prolific cybercriminal groups,” noting that r

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