By IANS,
New Delhi : The communications and information technology ministry Wednesday said that 117 government websites were defaced in the first six months of the year and that steps like auditing of cyber security are under way.
“A total of 117 government websites were defaced during the period January-June, 2011,” Sachin Pilot, minister of state for communications and information technology, informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply.
Pilot said after analysis of the cyber attacks, the ministry advised government departments to strengthen the security of their websites.
“The analysis report along with counter-measures to plug the exploited vulnerabilities was provided to the affected organisations by Indian computer emergency response team,” the minister said.
Steps like security audit of new government websites and applications prior to their web-hosting have been taken, he said.
“National Informatics Centre, which hosts government websites, is continuously engaged in upgrading and improving the security posture of its hosting infrastructure,” the minister said.
The central government and state governments were implementing a crisis management plan to counter cyber attacks and cyber terrorism, he said.