The Government has directed the National Informatics Centre (NIC) to enhance its level of preparedness and take precautions against possible cyber attacks and hacking incidents on government websites and strategic IT infrastructure after India destroyed a terrorist training camp in Pakistan’s Balakot.
Sources said the ministry of electronics and IT (MeitY), which is the controlling ministry for NIC, instructed the department to increase its surveillance of the IT infrastructure as there are chances that hackers might attack government websites or related infrastructure. Inputs were also taken from the ministry of home affairs (MHA) on the same.
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“Although NIC is usually vigilant nowadays due to rise in cyber attacks, but due to the ongoing stand-off with Pakistan, it is feared that hackers might launch attacks. Indian – Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) will also up its monitoring,” one of the sources said.
A senior government official said the NIC-CERT division is already monitoring the IT infrastructure. It is NIC’s nodal arm for managing cyber security incidents and acts as the single point of contact and coordination with stakeholders for cyber security incidents. The division undertakes measures to issue periodic threat intelligence, security alerts, tips and advisories to safeguard NIC’s assets against cyber threats.
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It will also coordinate with CERT-In, National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) and other stakeholders regarding this, he added.