Haryana Power Bill Data Hacked, Rs 1 Cr in Bitcoin Demanded

Hackers reportedly attacked the Haryana power meter reading system and demanded 1 crore in bitcoin to restore access

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A cyber attack took place on the automatic meter reading system (AMR) of Haryana power utilities in Panchkula, an official said to PTI on 28 March.

A report in The New Indian Express added that whoever was responsible for the hack also demanded Rs 1 crore in bitcoin from the state government to decrypt the files and restore access to the system.

The New Indian Express, quoting anonymous sources said that UHBVN, which monitors electricity billing for nine districts in Haryana, was the target of a cyber attack at seventeen minutes past midnight on 21 March.

PTI confirmed that an attack indeed did take place around midnight on 21 March.

The report adds that a message was displayed on computer screens of the head office of UHBVN in Panchkula, allegedly demanding Rs 1 crore in bitcoin from the state government to restore access.

The TNIE report adds that a case has been registered in Panchkula under a number of sections of the IT Act and the Indian Penal Code, however, not naming the sections.

However, officials maintained, in a statement to PTI, that there was no loss of billing data as a backup was already available with the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN), the official said, adding that the billing of consumers was also not affected.

The system that is in use was installed, operated and managed by Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) since 2011.

Immediately after the attack, the complete system study was carried out by the concerned officers, cyber experts as well as other IT experts, a spokesman for UHBVN said to PTI.

"The database was found encrypted and the backup of encrypted database was also taken for further retrieval," he said.

An FIR into the incident has been lodged, officials informed PTI.

(With inputs from PTI and The New Indian Express)