The official said that an overwhelming number of employees and officials have the cyber safety course by June-end. According to official figures, the strength of Central government employees in various departments is around 34.45 lakh as on March 1, 2023, which is estimated to rise to 35.55 lakh by March 1, 2024. Around 29 Cabinet ministers, 47 ministers of state and three ministers with independent charges look after nearly 93 departments of the Central government, the report added.
Meanwhile, government data shows that the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has tracked over 10,000 cyber attacks on various departments and ministries of both the Central and state governments in the last nine years, from 2014 to 2022. The CERT-In is mandated to track and monitor cyber security incidents in the country.
Apart from the government websites, around 12,691 cyber attacks were carried out on government health institutions during the same period. Concerned about the hacking, the government has mandated various agencies to audit websites and has also taken a slew of measures for preventing data and cyber breaches, the report added.