Govt issues advisory over ‘misuse’ of identities by cyber criminals

Srinagar, May 18: Government on Wednesday issued advisory over misuse of identities of senior level government functionaries through emails, telephone numbers on platforms like whatsapp and other messaging applications for conveying instructions and directions by cyber criminals.
“Instances of cyber crimes like hacking, phishing, identity theft etc are being reported on a daily basis from every nook and corner of the country. The number of these crimes have proliferated due to the extensive and unrestricted availability of data and access to technical know-how available on the internet,” reads a circular issued by the government.
Government organizations and authorities have especially been targets of these activities for a variety of reasons, the circular, a copy of which lies with GNS, underlines.
“Of late such instances have been reported from various officers/officials of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, wherein, identities of senior level UT functionaries are being used along with emails, telephone numbers on platforms like whatsapp and other messaging applications for conveying instructions/directions,” it reads, adding, “The seriousness of the matter has necessitated issuing circular instructions to all the Departments to ensure that the identities of government functionaries are not misused by the cyber criminals”.
Accordingly, the government enjoined upon all Administrative Secretaries, HoDs and Managing Directors of various Government Organizations and Corporations to authenticate any instructions or direction received from any government functionary before processing or acting upon them. “The department shall also sensitize their officers/officials regarding these cyber attacks/frauds,” the circular reads as per Global News Service, adding, “Onus of any adverse result of acting upon these unverified instructions/directions shall lie with the concerned officer/official. No action should be taken with respect to such messages that are in violation of rules / instructions / guidelines under any pretext.” (GNS)