PANAJI
Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao has accused the government of failing to take ahead the Digital India initiative citing that 70 percent of Goa government websites are vulnerable to cyberattacks.
Referring to The Goan's exclusive report on cybersecurity lapses, Alemao charged the government with neglecting critical cybersecurity measures.
"BJP India's Digital India failed. Goa Govt websites are non-functional & are not secured. As per reports, more than 70 per cent of government websites are not safe. I had raised this issue in monsoon assembly session, despite promises Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Minister Rohan Khaunte failed to address it," Alemao stated in a post on X.
Several websites, including those of Goa University, lack basic security protocols such as SSL encryption, which ensures privacy, authentication and integrity in internet communications.
The Electricity Department, Commercial Taxes Department, Women and Child Development Department, and the Goa Police Department are among the long list of vulnerable sites.
The Department of Information and Technology (DoIT) reported that 45 of 62 government websites have not renewed their security audits, and the renewal process for another 17 websites has been pending for over a year. This security lapse has led to warnings on these websites, indicating that personal information could be at risk of cyberattacks.
