US, India, Japan, And Australia Unite To Tackle Cyberattacks On Power Plants And Telecom Facilities

The US, Australia, India, and Japan are collaborating to share information on cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure facilities. Such data will be utilised by each country for quick preparation of defense measures.

In late May, the Quad, consisting of four countries, hopes to reach an agreement during their summit in Australia.

The group sees stronger cyber defense as a pressing matter in deterring Russia and China after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, where a combination of cyber-attacks and conventional weapons were used in "hybrid warfare".

Quad nations aim to enhance cyber cooperation, beginning with information-sharing as a tangible measure, as per their joint summit declaration in 2022.

Cyberattacks are utilised in modern warfare to disturb social systems prior to aggressive physical attacks. Ukraine's power plants and telecommunication facilities were targeted during the Russian invasion.

Distributed denial-of-service attacks are becoming increasingly complex, making them a growing threat to servers. If one of the four countries targeted by such an attack can identify its source and methods, it will be easier for the others to protect themselves.

To mitigate this risk, the US has established various public and private organizations to develop software that safeguards systems in the event of an attack.

The Quad nations plan to develop safety standards for software purchased by their government agencies, including a proposal for a unified auditing system for security management and data encryption.

Establishing a safe software supply chain between the four countries enables flexible response to emergencies.

Nord VPN survey reveals the US experienced 198 major cyberattacks against government entities and other organizations from 2006 to 2021, surpassing all other nations.

The UK faced 58 attacks, followed by India with 32. Australia and Japan were targeted 22 and 16 times respectively. These attacks are suspected to be from China, Russia and North Korea.