PANAJI
Minister for Women & Child Development Vishwajit Rane has blamed a cyberattack that hit the department’s website replacing the original informative content with casino advertisements.
Reacting to The Goan’s report published on Thursday, the minister stated that 62 websites were affected by this breach.
“I am upset by the recent cyberattack on the Department of Women & Child Development’s website, where a casino advertisement appeared in place of essential content meant to support women and children in Goa. This incident, which stemmed from a breach in the host server of an empanelled government website, is unacceptable and undermines the integrity of public digital services,” he said.
“It is important to note that 62 government websites were affected by this breach...”
The minister assured to lodge a complaint with the police and ensure strict accountability is maintained.
“I assure the people of Goa that the Women & Child Development website holds a valid Web Security Audit Certificate. We are taking this matter up with the concerned authorities. Till then, the website has been disabled. Also lodging an FIR against this. I will ensure that strict accountability is maintained. Our team is actively working to strengthen our systems and prevent such incidents in the future,” he added.
The casino advertisement was listed under the link for “schemes” meant for the welfare of women and children, as the screenshot published alongside indicates. One such ad suggests choosing online gambling sites which accept payments through ‘Mastercard’ credit cards for safety reasons.
Another prompts you to play free “Slot Machine Online” without downloading or installing the app and has an ‘overview’ on playing free slot machines online.
