Lok Sabha Question No. 1586 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-12-27
Subject: Increase in Hacking Attempts
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: KURUPPASSERY VARKEY THOMAS, HARI BABU KAMBHAMPATI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1586

TO BE ANSWERED ON:

27.12.2017

## INCREASE IN HACKING ATTEMPTS

## 1586.       PROF. K.V. THOMAS: DR. KAMBHAMPATI  HARIBABU:

Will the Minister of Electronics & Information Technology be pleased to state:-

- (a) whether foreign hackers, especially from China and Pakistan are secretly getting into our system and creating security threats and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether  there  has  been  an  increase  in  the  number  of  hacking  attempts  of  Indian companies;
- (c) if  so,  the  details  thereof  including  number  of  hacking  attempts  identified/reported during the last three years; year-wise;
- (d) whether  the  Government  has  estimated  any  loss  to  the  companies  due  to  hacking attempts and cyber attacks and if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) the steps taken by the Government to end this menace?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ALPHONS KANNANTHANAM)

(a): There  have  been  attempts  from  time  to  time  to  penetrate  systems/devices  of  cyber networks operating in Government and its personnel.  These attacks have been observed to be originating from the cyber space of a number of countries including China and Pakistan.

(b) and (c): As per the information reported to and tracked by Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), a total no. of 44679, 49455, 50362 and  40054 cyber security incidents  were  observed  during    the  year  2014,  2015,  2016  and  2017  (till  November) respectively.  The  types  of  cyber  security  incidents  include  phishing,  scanning/probing, website  intrusions  and  defacements,  virus/malicious  code,  ransomware,  denial-of-service attacks,  etc.  These  incidents  were  reported  to  CERT-In  by  various  organisations  and individuals.

(d): No separate data with regard to the losses incurred by the Indian companies as a result of cyber attacks is maintained by Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In).

(e): The Government has taken following measures in regard to preventing unauthorised access to data and enhancing the cyber security of information technology infrastructure in the country:

- (i) Government  has  circulated  Computer  Security  Policy  and  Guidelines  to  all  the Ministries/Departments  on  taking  steps  to  prevent,  detect  and  mitigate  cyber attacks.
- (ii) Government  has  published  Guidelines  for  Chief  Information  Security  Officers (CISOs) for Secure Applications and Infrastructure. Government has also specified key roles and responsibilities of CISOs in all Central Government Ministries/Department,  State  Governments/UTs  and  critical  sector  organisations managing  ICT  operations  to  strengthen  IT  Infrastructure. National  Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) sends alerts and advisories for the protection of critical information infrastructure periodically.
- (iii) Government (MeitY) has formulated Cyber Crisis Management Plan (CCMP) for countering cyber attacks and cyber terrorism for implementation by all Ministries/ Departments of Central Government, State Governments/UTs and their organizations and critical sectors.
- (iv) CERT-In  publishes  guidelines  regularly  for  securing  the  websites,  computer systems and applications, which are available on its website (www.cert-in.org.in).
- (v) The  Indian  Computer  Emergency  Response  Team  (CERT-In)  issues  alerts  and advisories  regarding  latest  cyber  threats/vulnerabilities  and  countermeasures  to protect  computers  on  regular  basis.    Security  tips  have  been  published  to  enable users to secure their Desktops and mobile/smart phones. Tailored alerts are sent to key organisations to enable them to detect and prevent cyber attacks.
- (vi) Cyber security mock drills are being conducted regularly to enable assessment of cyber  security  posture  and  preparedness  of  organizations  in  Government  and critical sectors. 15 such drills have so far been conducted by CERT-In where 148 organisations from different States and sectors such as Finance, Defence, Power, Telecom, Transport, Energy, Space, IT/ITeS, etc participated. In addition 3 drills were conducted in coordination with The Reserve Bank of India and The Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology.
- (vii) CERT-In regularly conducts training programmes for network / system administrators  and  Chief  Information  Security  Officers  (CISOs)  of  Government and  critical  sector  organisations  regarding  securing  the  IT  infrastructure  and mitigating  cyber  attacks.  14  training  programs  covering  431  participants  and  22 training programs covering 610 participants were conducted during 2016 and 2017 (till November) respectively.
- (viii) National  Informatics  Centre  (NIC),  which  provides  Information  Technology / EGovernance  related  services  to  Government  Ministries/Departments,  protects  the cyber resources from possible compromises through a layered security approach in the form of practices, procedures and technologies that are put in place.
- (ix) NIC  protects  the  cyber  resources  from  possible  compromises  through  a  layered security approach in the form of practices, procedures and technologies that are put in  place.  NIC  has  deployed  state-of-the-art  security  solutions  including  firewalls,

intrusion  prevention  systems,  anti-virus  solution.  Additionally,  periodic  security audits  of  resources  are  performed  followed  by  subsequent  hardenings.  These  are complemented  by  round-the-clock  monitoring  of  security  events  and  remedial measures are carried out for solving the problems subsequently. A 24x7 security monitoring  centre  including  NIC-CERT  is  in  place  at  NIC  for  detecting  and responding to security incidents.

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