The website of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) was hacked on Sunday, prompting authorities to temporarily block it. The MHA, however, denied any hacking saying it was “down for repair”.
The hacking incident came to light when the Ministry lodged a complaint with the Delhi Police.
Though a case was not registered, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police initiated an enquiry. A police officer said a team had been constituted and it was looking into the hacking.
Site blocked
The website was blocked by the National Informatics Centre immediately after the hacking was noticed in the morning. It remained down for the rest of the day.
Computer emergency response teams are looking into the incident, an official said. In the evening, the Ministry spokesperson said: “The MHA website had technical problems which according to the NIC will be set right by late evening.”
Last month, suspected Pakistan-affiliated operatives had hacked the official website of the elite National Security Guard (NSG) and defaced it with a profanity-laden message against the Prime Minister and anti-India content.
Cybercrimes
More than 700 websites of various Central and State government departments were hacked in the past four years and a total of 8,348 persons were arrested for their involvement in cybercrimes, according to official data released this month.
