NHAI, automakers asked to tighten IT security after cyber threats
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways on Sunday alerted the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and its other wings as well as automobile makers to enhance their IT security systems citing reports about possible cyber attacks targeted at the Indian Transport sector. The Ministry said it received an alert from the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) in this regard. Here's more.
"The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways received an alert from CERT-In regarding targeted intrusion activities directed toward Indian Transport sector with possible malicious intentions," the Ministry has said in a statement. "The Ministry has advised departments and organizations under transport sector to strengthen the security posture of their infrastructure," the statement further read.
The Ministry requested NHAI, NIC, National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL), Indian Road Congress (IRC), Indian Academy of Highway Engineers (IAHE), State PWDs, and car manufacturers to conduct a security audit of the entire IT system by CERT-In certified agencies. It has advised such security audits on a regular basis apart from taking all actions as per their recommendations.
It also said that the audit report and the action taken report should be regularly submitted to the Ministry. In June last year too, the NHAI had reported a cyber attack on its email server. It had shut down its server as a precaution at the time and said that prompt action resulted in no data loss.
Earlier this month, a report released by a United States-based firm suggested that a Chinese cyber campaign had targeted India's power grid, resulting in a power blackout in Mumbai last October. The Ministry of Power had confirmed it was aware of the Chinese cyber campaign to affect India's power network. It, however, said that there was no breach of data due to the incident.
