54,483 Cyber-Security Incidents Reported This Fiscal: Government

As many as 54,483 cyber-security incidents such as phishing, spam and malicious code have been reported in the current financial year, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.

These incidents were reported to the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) by various Indian organisations, individuals and agencies from other countries,

Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

The area of information technology (IT) is characterised by rapid developments and fast changing obsolescence, Prasad said, adding that "with every IT product introduced into the market, newer vulnerabilities are discovered, leaving scope for malicious actions".

He said however that CERT-In does not maintain any separate data with regard to the losses incurred by the Indian companies due to cyber-attacks. The minister said the government has taken various steps to curb cyber-attacks.

Also on Wednesday, Prasad in a written reply to the Lok Sabha added that the government has initiated steps to devise a mechanism to access Interpol's 'worst-of-list' through CBI and disable such content on the Internet.

The government is also in touch with Internet service providers (ISPs) on upgradation of their infrastructure and technology so as to address the shortcomings with regard to identifying and blocking encrypted websites.

"In order to effectively deal with online child pornographic contents, Government has already initiated steps towards devising a mechanism to securely access Interpol'sworst-of-list through Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is the national nodal point for Interpol related activities in the country," Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said in a written reply to Lok Sabha.