Cyber attacks being launched from China: Prasad

Minister of Communications said a crisis management plan has been formulated to counter cyber attacks and cyber terrorism

Cyber attacks are being launched from China and some other nations to penetrate computer networks of government organisations in India, Parliament was informed today.

To deal with these issues, the government has taken a number of measure to enhance cyber security and prevent cyber spying attacks, Minister of Communications and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

He further said that a crisis management plan has been formulated for countering cyber attacks and cyber terrorism.

"There have been attempts from time to time to penetrate cyber networks and systems operating in government organisations. These attacks have been observed to be directed from the cyber space of a number of countries, including China," the Minister said.

He added that attackers use masquerading techniques and hidden servers to hide the identity of actual system from which attacks are being launched.

"Government is aware of the nature of the threats in cyber space and accordingly, is following an integrated approach with a series of legal, technical and administrative steps to ensure that necessary systems are in place to address the growing threat of cyber attacks in the country," he said.

The government has circulated computer security policy and guidelines to all ministries/departments on taking steps to prevent, detect and mitigate cyber attacks, he said.

The Minister said security agencies have been equipped with suitable technical support to prevent and safeguard against cyber threats.

"Air gap between Internet and official networks is being maintained by organizations involved in strategic activities," Prasad said adding that the government has formulated crisis management plan for countering cyber attacks and cyber terrorism as well.

"Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has empanelled 51 information security auditors through a stringent mechanism of selection to carry out audits," he said.

In reply to a separate question, Prasad said India and Japan are collaborating on cyber security in the form of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between CERT-In and Japan-CERT for exchange of information on latest threats and vulnerabilities and mitigation strategies to cyber attacks.