Cyber attacks on govt department rising; 151 hacking, 492 phishing cases in 3 years

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 13

As many as 492 instances of phishing and smishing; 35 ransomware attack instances and 151 cases of hacking of websites involving government departments and agencies have been reported in the past three years, the government on Monday said in Rajya Sabha.

Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrashekhar said, “As per the information reported to and tracked by the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), a total of 9, 7 and 19 ransomware incidents pertaining to government organisations were observed during the years 2020, 2021 and 2022 respectively. Further, a total of 77, 159 and 246 phishing and smishing incidents of government organisations and 59, 42 and 50 incidents of hacking of website of Ministries/Departments of the Central Government and of State Governments were observed during the years 2020, 2021 and 2022 respectively.”

The Government said it was committed to ensure that the Internet in India is open, safe, trusted and accountable for all its users.

“With the expansion of the Internet and more and more Indians coming online, the possibility of cyber-attacks has also increased,” the MoS admitted close on the heels of a ransomware attack on AIIMS servers that paralysed health service delivery for nearly two weeks.

Cyber attacks

Phishing: Is a form of social engineering where attackers deceive people into revealing sensitive information or installing malware such as ransomware.

Smishing: The fraudulent practice of sending text messages purporting to be from reputable companies in order to induce individuals to reveal personal information, such as passwords or credit card numbers.

Ransomware: Ransomware is an ever-evolving form of malware designed to encrypt files on a device, rendering any files and the systems that rely on them unusable. Malicious actors then demand ransom in exchange for decryption.