Cyber-security researchers have expressed worries after the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs issued an alert indicating possible attacks from Indonesian hackers on hundreds of state and central government websites. According to a notice published by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), part of the Home Affairs Ministry, an Indonesian “hacktivista organisation” is allegedly aiming its attacks on 1,200 government websites.
Ashish Tandon, Founder and CEO of Indusface, has identified the effects of potential cyber attacks as significant, highlighting the currently inadequate protection of digital infrastructure across the country. Tandon emphasized the necessity for government departments to migrate their digital infrastructure to the cloud in order to counteract the hacker group’s advanced cloud-based Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology. Beyond AI infrastructure, the use of on-premises tools and website hosting is inadequate in preventing the malicious cyber activity.
Since cyber-attacks remain a serious issue across India, tech tools have been introduced by security researchers to help protect Indian women from online harassment and other cyber threats. The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) was the target of a ransomware attack in 2021 which severely disrupted its various systems and records.
An Indonesian-based cyber-security organisation, mentioned in the I4C alert, lists confirmed targets of its attacks. In 2022, Indian government websites were recorded to have been victimized in 19 ransomware attacks. It is now critical for governments to pay attention to digital security, Tandon pointed out, as cyber-attacks continue to increase and cause detrimental effects.
