The government said on Monday there was no serious impact on the country from a global ransomware cyberattack, except for a few isolated incidents in Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, and steps were being taken to deal with any future threat.
Information and Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the systems run by the National Informatics Centre were secured and running smoothly. A cyber coordination centre will start operating from next month to take precautions against such attacks, he said.
Prasad told reporters:
There is no major impact in India, unlike other countries. We are keeping a close watch. As per the information received so far, there have been isolated incidents in limited areas in Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.
The minister said India has started installing 'patches' since March, besides sending regular advisories to all stakeholders. A patch is a software used to correct any loophole in a programme, including security vulnerabilities.
India is also coordinating with international agencies, cleaning up the malware, and conducting cyber drill regularly to foil possible cyber attacks.
Asked about reports of networks of a few banks being compromised, the minister said he had no such information.
India is on high alert, monitoring critical networks across sectors like banking, telecom, power and aviation to ensure that systems are protected against a possible cyberattack on its vital networks by the crippling global ransomware, ‘WannaCry’.
Around 120 computers connected to the Gujarat government's information technology network were hit by ransomware virus 'WannaCry', though no "valuable" data was compromised, a senior government official said on Monday.
As per our information, so far the virus has affected around 120 computers in different government departments linked to the Gujarat State Wide Area Network (GSWAN). But none of the affected computers has any valuable data or important information that could adversely impact the government’s functioningDhananjay Dwivedi, Science and Technology Department Secretary
'WannaCry' has disrupted networks in over 150 countries, including Russia and the UK, and is being termed as one of the most widespread cyber attacks.
Reports suggest that over two lakh systems globally could have been infected by the malicious software that blocks access to data unless a ransom is paid.
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