'Zero impact of ransomware attack in Bengal'

The West Bengal government on Thursday claimed the ongoing global ransomware attacks have had a "zero impact" on the state government's networks.

The officials also said a state Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-WB) and cyber security centre of excellence are on the anvil.

The state government's statement came two days after anti-virus software maker, Quick Heal Technologies said West Bengal was the worst hit in terms of the number of cyber security attacks.

The state department of IT & Electronics "ensured that due protection was taken and compliance made with regards to critical infrastructure pertaining to IT in the state government like Data Centre", the government said.

"Effective steps have been taken which have led to pre-emption of the ongoing cyber attacks and a zero impact on the state government networks," said Krishna Gupta, Principal Secretary, Department of IT&E.

Nodal officers of all departments have been sensitised on the ongoing cyber attack.

A workshop was held on Thursday to discuss these issues.

The meeting was addressed by Additional Commissioner of Police Vineet Kumar Goyal and cyber security experts. Gupta chaired the meeting.

On Monday, of the 500 customer care centres of the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (WBSEDCL), around 30 centres fell prey to the malware "WannaCrypt" that crippled computers from hospitals in Britain to police stations in India, with hackers demanding hundreds of dollars from the users for them to regain control over their data.

Officials at WBSEDCL claimed there were no fresh attacks.

--IANS

sgh/ssp/pgh/vt