Ransomware cyber attack: Remove Sam Pitroda as technical advisor, says BJP

BJP says when his whereabouts are not known then what is the need of having him in the post

The Odisha unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday demanded immediate removal of Sam Pitroda as technical advisor to the state government.

The party questioned his absence at a time when some institutions in the state have come under cyber attack of WannaCry ransomware virus.

"When cyber attacks are taking place in Odisha and whereabouts of the IT advisor Sam Pitroda is not known then what is the need of having him in the post", Sajjan Sharma, spokesperson of BJP state unit said.

"State government should refrain from appointing non-resident Indians (NRIs) as advisors and Chief minister Naveen Patnaik must remove him," Sharma added.

In January 2016, Pitroda was appointed technology advisor and was given the rank of a Cabinet minister. This is not for the first time there is a clamour for removal of Pitroda. 

Earlier, BJP alleged that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had given Pitroda a Cabinet minister rank because of some understanding between Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Congres and thereafter, claimed his involvement in the National Herald case.

Meanwhile, a three-member team of cyber cell of the state crime branch has started a probe into WannaCry ransomware attack at Berhampur city hospital.

Computers at Berhampur City hospital and Purusottampur Community Health Centre (CHC) were hacked by WannaCry virus on Wednesday. The hackers demanded $300 to decrypt the encrypted data.

Officials in the state government said, apart from these two cases, there are no fresh cases of malware attack.

"We have sought the reports from district administrations and there are no new cases of attack. We are waiting for their reports", said a government official.

Odisha government on Wednesday directed the collectors of all the 30 districts to make an assessment of computer systems. They were also asked to evaluate computer systems, status of anti-virus programme, operating softwares, and other cyber security measures.