AIADMK MLA and senior party leader S. Semmalai on Wednesday underscored the issue of the hacking of government websites, personal documents and social networking accounts in the Assembly. He also highlighted the dangers posed by the Blue Whale Challenge, an online game which involves self-harm.
In response, Information Minister M. Manikandan said the government’s e-security policy was unveiled as early as in 2010, and that the State was taking various measures to boost internet security and counter cyber threats.
A cyber crime management plan was being prepared and a Computer Emergency Response Force was on anvil, he said. Annual safety audits of government websites, vulnerability assessment and penetration test formed part of the measures to counter cyber threats, the Minister noted. As for the threat posed by the Blue Whale Challenge, Mr. Manikandan said, “The main server [of the game] is in Russia and the Central government has made efforts to block the game in India.”
Earlier, Mr. Semmalai elaborated on the threats posed by hackers and pointed out that the Twitter account of Revenue Minister R.B. Udhayakumar was hacked recently.
