Over 22,000 Indian websites hacked during April 2017-January 2018
What's the story
According to Minister of State (MoS) for Electronics and IT KJ Alphons, a total of 22,207 Indian websites were hacked between April 2017 and January 2018. This included 114 government portals as well. The information was tracked and reported by the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), Alphons told the Lok Sabha in a written statement.
Details
301 security alerts were sent regarding potential vulnerabilities
Of the 22,207 affected websites, 493 were used for malware propagation, Alphons said. The minister added that the CERT-In had issued a total of 301 security alerts regarding potential vulnerabilities and threats to multiple systems and applications between April 2017 and January 2018. Other than these, several tailored alerts were also sent to major Indian organizations to help them detect and prevent cyber attacks.
Quote
Servers used to host websites can be prone to hacking
"Organizations use servers to host websites and applications for the dissemination of information and providing services to users. The servers not configured properly and having vulnerable software are prone to hacking and could be misused by cybercriminals," Alphons said.
Prevention
All government websites must undergo audits regarding cybersecurity
In his report, Alphons also stated that it is mandatory for all new government websites and applications to be audited with respect to cybersecurity before being hosted and going live. The audits also must continue on a regular basis after the hosting. He reasserted that people need to make continuous efforts of hardening and deploying appropriate security controls to protect their servers.