The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has instructed its officials not to use Google mail for official communication after Chinese hackers accessed the PMO’s internal networking systems.

The Chinese also hacked the Ministry of External Affairs’ internal communications network, and the National Informatics Centre (NIC) also fell victim to an attack supposedly aimed at the National Security Council.

The Chinese hacked the communication networks of officials and accessed emails used by the officials to communicate policy and decisions to other ministries and sectors of the government. The cyber attacks are believed to have been launched from dial-up internet connections in China. Up to four cyber attacks by Chinese hackers are reported on Indian servers daily.

The NIC traced the IP addresses used for attacking the PMO’s communication networks to China. They found that Google mail or Gmail was the main target of the Chinese hackers. Following this, the PMO has instructed its officers and staff to refrain from using Gmail for official communication.

The incident has raised doubts about the efficiency of the cyber security systems used by the government for communication. Although important communications within the government are encrypted and secure, Chinese hackers are reportedly using programs and designing software capable of decrypting the system and evading the security systems installed.

The National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) is coordinating with the NIC to encrypt official communication and firewall networks against hackers. However, the agency is unable to hire the best talent in the country due to limited resources. The government is supposedly focusing on eliminating the most hacked mail service instead of focusing on strengthening cyber security. X

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