India Warns Ministries of Ongoing Cyber Warfare

Strategic Insights -

Government agencies in India have been advised to take urgent measures to protect against cyber attacks following a heightened threat perception in cyberspace. The National Informatics Centre (NIC) has cautioned all ministries and government departments to take necessary security measures after the recent ceasefire between India and Pakistan. The Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, NIC, and India's computer emergency response team, Cert-in, have been fighting off heavy cyber-attacks since the April 22 terror attack.

Key Takeaways:

  • The National Informatics Centre (NIC) has cautioned all ministries and government departments on the "heightened threat perception in cyberspace" and the security measures that need to be undertaken to protect all government communication.
  • All secretaries across ministries were asked to initiate an "internal Cyber Security Preparedness Exercise" in view of the "growing cyber threats and incidents across the nation".
  • The Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, NIC, and India's computer emergency response team, Cert-in, have been fighting heavy cyber-attacks since the April 22 terror attack.
  • Over 30-40 major cyber attacks are being warded off daily across government interfaces with the financial and power sectors and data centres being the primary targets.
  • Most cyber attacks aim at defacement, data breach, and rendering the website dysfunctional by flooding it with artificial traffic.
  • All organisations have been asked to implement cybersecurity best practices, including regular password changes, strong and unique passwords, avoidance of suspicious or spam emails, and removal of unmanaged LAN network devices from the network.
  • The advisories highlight the need to upgrade the operating systems of all PCs/devices to the latest versions/patches and remove obsolete equipment from the network.

Statistics:

  • Over 30-40 major cyber attacks are being warded off daily across government interfaces.
  • The financial and power sectors and data centres are being targeted by cyber attackers.
  • Most cyber attacks aim at defacement, data breach, and rendering the website dysfunctional by flooding it with artificial traffic.
  • All organisations have been asked to implement cybersecurity best practices in 3 areas: personal desktop/laptop level, application, database, server, data centre, and network level.

Sources:

*

  • ET (Economic Times) [1]
  • Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology