About 7,000 servers in India have been hacked in the first four months of this year, which shows the lack of cyber security across the country, said author and ethical hacker Ankit Fadia.
“It is pretty alarming. The private sector is more aware about cyber security, but government departments are lacking in that area,” mentioned Mr. Fadia, while addressing media here at the launch of his new book ‘Social: 50 Ways to Improve Your Professional Life’, here on Wednesday.
Decision makers of various government departments are not aware of such risks posed by the internet. “Also, it is a budget issue, as sometimes people don’t want to spend so much on websites,” claimed Ankit, who further stated that the free WI-FI the State government is planning to implement will also have security issues, if it is not set up with care.
“Any hacker can use someone else’s identity or can duplicate his or her address, and commit crimes. It will land whosever account is hacked, into trouble,” he pointed out.
The only way to prevent it, said Ankit, is by using one time passwords (OTP) generated to mobile phones after logging into any account. “The infrastructure also has to improve. Hacking has become easy now, as the tools for that can be easily availed on the internet,” he mentioned. “In United States, people are aware of all the apps available for smart phones, and use them to improve their lives. But it is yet to happen in India,” said Ankit about his 16 book.