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Pen Drives
main threat to Cyber Security: Army
New Delhi, Sep 30: Despite a ban, use of pen drives has emerged as
the main threat to cyber security in defence forces as it is responsible
for over 70 per cent of such breaches in the three Services.
The use of pen drives as an
easy-to-carry storage device has increased in the recent past and internal
reports have confirmed that over 70 per cent cyber security
breaches in the
armed forces are due to their unauthorised use, Army officials told PTI here.
"These pen drives, which are
mostly manufactured in China, have emerged as a big threat to our cyber security systems," they said.
Fresh cyber security guidelines have been issued by the Army headquarters
to protect sensitive military networks from hacker attacks, sources said.
Measures have been taken by the
other two services also to tighten their cyber
security as IAF also recently
issued instructions to its personnel warning them against having any official
data on their personal computers and pen drives.
All personnel have been asked to
declare their Information Technology assets and have been asked not to have any
official data on them, IAF officials said here.
Anybody found violating these
instructions in checks by cyber
security personnel will draw
strict action which may even amount to disciplinary action including court
martial, they said.
When asked about the development,
IAF spokesperson Wg Cdr Gerard Galway confirmed the steps taken by the Air
headquarters to safeguard its cyber assets and secret information.
Sources said generally it is
found that officials use pen drive to store official data for use at their
personal computers but from there, it is transmitted from their IP addresses to
hackers from the 'malware' present in the pen drives.
About a couple of years ago, a
Major posted in Andaman and Nicobar Islands was apprehended as it was found
that sensitive data was being transferred from his computer.
However, it later emerged that
his system had been hacked and spying viruses were transferring information to
other computers.
An IAF Junior Warrant officer was
also apprehended by officials after he was found in possession of unauthorised
CDs carrying official information.
The Navy's Eastern Command was
also affected after hacker groups were found to be stealing information from
its computers there due to malware put in them by external drives.
As part of efforts to counter cyber-attacks, the National Security Council has
also been discussing designating certain intelligence agencies under the
Defence Ministry for countering cyber offensives against the country.
PTI
