700 Government websites hacked in 4 years

New Delhi : Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju informed in Lok Sabha that more than 700 Central and State Government websites were hacked in last 4 years.

Presently the fear of cyber security is worrying every nation. In past few years, there has been a remarkable increase in the instances of cyber-attacks worldwide. On the one hand, steps are taken towards digitization, while on the other, the cyber-attacks are also increasing. Against this background, the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs provided to the House, the count of government websites on which cyber-attacks were made.

707 government websites were hacked in 4 years, out of which 199 websites were hacked during last year itself. While 164 websites were hacked during the year 2015, 155 were hacked during 2014 and 189 were hacked during 2013, informed Rijiju on this occasion.

So far, 8348 citizens involved in cyber-crime have been arrested. The minister also informed that in the meantime the terrorists also attempted to attack the ‘National Security Guard’ (NSG) website in India through ‘Booby Trap’. A message was posted on the NSG website on January 1 this year, by an unidentified person. Considering the growing incidents of cyber-crimes in the country, the activity of opening cyber cells is also being undertaken on a ‘fast track’ basis.

‘Digital India’ initiative has been announced so as to increase the use of E-Transactions. The Central Ministry has sanctioned the ambitious ‘Digital India’ project, which is taking important steps, with a vision of E-Governance, to connect every village in India by Internet. A massive expense worth nearly 1 Lakh 13 Thousand Crore is expected for this. This scheme will be functional in the coming 5 years. Meanwhile, a 300 percent rise in cyber-attacks within the country was seen during the period 2011-2014. Also, a fear is being expressed that the cyber attackers might take control of Nuclear Projects, Rail Transport or Hospitals. It is evident from studies that the cyber attackers can cause power outages, water pollution and create obstacles in transport facilities. When efforts for digitization are ongoing in the country, the issue of cyber security is proving to be important. In this scenario, the growing cyber-attacks on government websites, have made it absolutely necessary to take concrete steps to strengthen cyber security in India.