Algerian hackers recently hacked several key Indian government websites, with one website down for over nine hours.
The sites included a site hosted by an advisor to the Prime Minister as well as a site linked to the sensitive Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). They have now been restored.
Five other departments had their sites hacked, with the attacks blamed on Algerian hackers after the targeted sites displayed a message reading ‘SanFour25, Algerian Hackers’ in the minutes after the hacking.
“Five sites were hacked on the night of October 29 by Algerian hackers. We have restored the websites. Vulnerabilities have been found and we are strengthening these websites,” said Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (ICERT) Director General Gulshan Rai.
The DRDO site hacked was that of the Recruitment and Assessment Centre, which deals with the recruitment of scientists.
Hacking has been a problem in India of late, with notorious hacking group notorious claiming responsibility in May for a number of cyber-attacks on government websites. The group said it was in response to the country’s Web censorship plans. A total of 270 government sites were hacked in India up until July this year.
Minister of State for Communications and IT Sachin Pilot told parliament that CERT was working to combat the issue.
