In a shocking incident, the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation UPSRTC website hacked on Thursday, resulting in the suspension of online travel bookings for 10 days. The hackers reportedly demanded a ransom of 40 crore in bitcoin in exchange for restoring the website’s services.
The cyber attack was first noticed by the UPSRTC officials on Thursday morning when they found that the website was inaccessible. Upon investigation, it was discovered that the website had been hacked, and the hackers had left a message demanding the ransom.
According to sources, the hackers had managed to breach the website’s security system and gain access to the database. They had then encrypted all the data, making it inaccessible to the UPSRTC officials. In their message, the hackers threatened to leak the data if their demand was not met.
The UPSRTC officials immediately reported the incident to the Uttar Pradesh police cyber cell, who have launched an investigation into the matter. The police have also alerted the Ministry of Home Affairs and the National Informatics Centre about the cyber attack.
Meanwhile, the UPSRTC has suspended all online travel bookings for the next 10 days, and passengers have been advised to book their tickets at the bus depots. The UPSRTC has assured the passengers that all necessary measures are being taken to restore the website’s services as soon as possible.
The cyber attack on the UPSRTC website has raised concerns about the security of government websites in India. This is not the first time that a government website has been hacked, and cyber attacks on Indian websites have been on the rise in recent years.
Experts have advised the government to take immediate steps to strengthen the cybersecurity measures of its websites and networks to prevent such incidents in the future. They have also stressed the need for regular audits and vulnerability assessments to identify and address potential weaknesses.
The incident has also highlighted the growing trend of cybercriminals demanding ransom in cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are increasingly being used by hackers to demand ransom as they are difficult to trace and offer anonymity.
The UPSRTC cyber attack serves as a wake-up call for the government and businesses to take cybersecurity seriously and invest in measures to prevent such incidents. The threat of cyber attacks is real and growing, and it is essential to stay vigilant and prepared to deal with them.
