8,000 cyber attacks warded off during CWG: NSA

New Delhi – A staggering 8,000 cyber attacks were warded off during the 2010 Commonwealth Games, National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon said Wednesday, pointing to India’s capabilities.

‘There were over 8,000 attacks during the Commonwealth Games on ticketing and other systems. This was pure malice. I can’t see any advantage in targeting ticketing and other networks,’ Menon said.

He was taking part in an interactive session after releasing a report on ‘India’s Cyber Security Challenge’ brought out by the Institute of

Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA).

How were the attacks dealt with?

‘While NTRO (National Technical Research Organisation) is tasked with the protection of our critical security cyber infrastructure, institutions like CERT-IN (Computer Emergency Response Team-India) have proved their worth during events like the Commonwealth Games in defending our open civil systems,’ Menon said after releasing the report.

Menon also saw some humour in the situation.

‘There is invariably a hullabaloo when one of our websites is hacked. But websites are meant to be hit! Their success is measured by how many people access or hit them.

‘So when a website is defaced by hackers, as happened to the CBI website, it is not necessarily a security breach though it might hurt one’s pride,’ he said.