Maharashtra deactivates 150 own websites
Saturday, Nov 23, 2013, 11:06 IST | Agency: DNA
Aadhaar portal among those taken down; lack of proper security certifications, updation behind IT dept move.
On the heels of the recent hacking of government websites, the state information technology (IT) department has cracked the whip on sites of various departments, which lacked proper security certifications, and have pulled off around a fourth of government sites from the internet.
A senior IT department official said about 150 of the 400-odd websites of various departments and undertakings had been taken down for several reasons, including lack of security compliance.
“We removed websites for (reasons like) non-compliance of security measures, lack of updation, nodal officers for the site not responding to department of information technology (IT) mails,” the offical said, adding that some departments had multiple websites.
“The old website was shut down after transferring meaningful data to the new website,” he said. The databases of these sites will also be cleaned up before being restored.
The security of these websites is audited by the Standardisation Testing and Quality Certification (STQC) Directorate or Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (ICERT)-empaneled vendors.
Recently, the websites of the MPSC and state social justice department were hacked. The state’s Aadhaar portal is among those that have been taken down, while sites pertaining to the scholarships of students have been restored.
In the backdrop of fears caused by the US National Security Agency’s (NSA) electronic snooping and revelations about mass surveillance by western powers, the government had asked officials to use their official e-mail ids instead of Gmail and Yahoo and take measures to protect private data of citizens.
“This (exercise) has helped bring about awareness in the departments concerned,” the official said, adding that half of the departments, whose websites had been pulled off, had received security certifications and the remaining were in the process of getting it.
“By November 30, around 80-90% of these websites will go live and the remaining will do so in December,” he claimed, adding that they had prioritised on updating sites useful to citizens and bringing them online.
“We are taking full care to ensure that our sites are user-friendly and secure,” said IT secretary Rajesh Aggarwal.
A senior IT department official said about 150 of the 400-odd websites of various departments and undertakings had been taken down for several reasons, including lack of security compliance.
“We removed websites for (reasons like) non-compliance of security measures, lack of updation, nodal officers for the site not responding to department of information technology (IT) mails,” the offical said, adding that some departments had multiple websites.
“The old website was shut down after transferring meaningful data to the new website,” he said. The databases of these sites will also be cleaned up before being restored.
The security of these websites is audited by the Standardisation Testing and Quality Certification (STQC) Directorate or Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (ICERT)-empaneled vendors.
Recently, the websites of the MPSC and state social justice department were hacked. The state’s Aadhaar portal is among those that have been taken down, while sites pertaining to the scholarships of students have been restored.
In the backdrop of fears caused by the US National Security Agency’s (NSA) electronic snooping and revelations about mass surveillance by western powers, the government had asked officials to use their official e-mail ids instead of Gmail and Yahoo and take measures to protect private data of citizens.
“This (exercise) has helped bring about awareness in the departments concerned,” the official said, adding that half of the departments, whose websites had been pulled off, had received security certifications and the remaining were in the process of getting it.
“By November 30, around 80-90% of these websites will go live and the remaining will do so in December,” he claimed, adding that they had prioritised on updating sites useful to citizens and bringing them online.
“We are taking full care to ensure that our sites are user-friendly and secure,” said IT secretary Rajesh Aggarwal.