Cyber attacks: MEA orders PCs re-formatting

Three instances in recent months have exposed vulnerability.

Faced with growing cyber attacks on its diplomats computers,the government has asked every computer in South Block and embassies abroad to be re-formatted at the earliest. Diplomats across the world have been asked to only operate through the governments secure cyber network,and not operate on the generic mails.

At least three instances in the recent months,top government sources told The Indian Express,have exposed the vulnerability of the diplomats cyber network.

In the first case,Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao had received an e-mail purportedly from the Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan,and it was understood to have contained malware.

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In the second instance,an e-mail from a First Secretary (political) in the embassy in Beijing,with the subject-line saying Indias foreign policy with China,had landed in the inbox of over a dozen officials in the Ministry of External Affairs.

The official,who realised that his mail id had been compromised,sent a message through secure network,asking colleagues in South Block not to open the message.

And in the third incident,a malware was installed in the computer of a Director in the European desk,which would get transmitted to pen-drives or hard-drives,and could infect other computers with sensitive information.

With these recent instances,a worried top brass at the MEA convened a meeting mid-August with senior NIC and NTRO officials and is learnt to have circulated a set of rules (see box) to be implemented by all missions.

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In order to ensure compliance,reports have to be submitted by all ambassadors and division heads to the Ministry.

New Rules

The rules,which have been circulated to all missions,have the following diktats:

* Scan computers for malicious content. Details of malicious content found on the computers,if any,must be sent to MEA for analysis.

* Reformat all computers. If the computer has been infected with a new malware,it is most likely to go undetected by virus scan.

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* Check e-mail settings to ensure there is no automail forwarding an unknown address.

* Change password of e-mail id every month.

* Ensure only genuine versions of operating system of applications are used in all computers.

* Install firewalls and remove any unnecessary applications or programmes from the computers.

* Computers connected with Internet should be used only for official use of web and sending/receiving e-mails of non-classified,non-sensitive nature.