---
title: "Indian Official Claims Huge Blackout May Have Been a Hack"
description: "An Indian official announced that a major power outage initially dismissed as a technical failure seems to have been caused by Chinese hackers."
date: "2021-03-03"
modified: "2021-03-03"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/indian-official-claims-blackout-hack"
categories:
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "china"
  - "cyber warfare"
  - "india"
  - "the digest"
---

# Indian Official Claims Huge Blackout May Have Been a Hack

![An Indian official announced that a major power outage initially dismissed as a technical failure seems to have been caused by Chinese hackers.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/indian-official-claims-blackout-hack.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Shots Fired

A major power outage that struck Mumbai last year may have been the result of a deliberate cyberattack against the Indian city's infrastructure.

Initially, officials announced that the blackout stemmed from technical problems. But now, *[Reuters ](<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-power-china/mumbai-power-outage-could-have-been-cyber-sabotage-says-minister-idUSKCN2AT31Q>)*[reports](<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-power-china/mumbai-power-outage-could-have-been-cyber-sabotage-says-minister-idUSKCN2AT31Q>), local minister Anil Deshmukh told the press that an investigation revealed 14 Trojan horse programs lurking in the city's power system. With early signs pointing to China, the alleged hack signals yet another escalation between the two countries — and the potential of cyberwar to [undermine critical infrastructure](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/hacker-water-treatment-plant-poison-city>).

## Pointing Fingers

The October power outage left millions without electricity, brought public transit to a halt, and shut down communication networks for up to 12 hours in some parts of the city, according to *Reuters*.

The day before Deshmukh's announcement, *The New York Times* [published a report](<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/28/us/politics/china-india-hacking-electricity.html>) suggesting that the cyberattack was a warning shot of sorts over ongoing conflicts between the two countries, though the Chinese Embassy dismissed it as speculation.

## New Battlefield

That *NYT* report — the one that the Chinese Embassy in India vehemently denied — suggests that the alleged hack was in response to [ongoing and sometimes violent conflict](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/china-rolling-out-enormous-weather-modification-system>) between the two countries over their shared border in the Himalaya mountains.

Recent talks between the two governments had eased tensions a bit, according to *Reuters*, but if the allegations that China is responsible for the cyberattack are true, more conflict seems likely to follow.

**READ MORE:** [Mumbai power outage could have been cyber sabotage, says minister](<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-power-china/mumbai-power-outage-could-have-been-cyber-sabotage-says-minister-idUSKCN2AT31Q>) \[*Reuters*\]

**More on cyber warfare:** *[Someone Hacked India's Nuclear Power Plants](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/india-nuclear-power-plants-hacked>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)