NEW DELHI: Government officials have been warned by cyber-security agencies about a phishing scam that aims to steal their login credentials by creating fake versions of the official government website.
The National Informatics Centre (NIC) have identified two harmful URLs, “mod.gov.in.aboutcase.nl/publications.html” and “mod.gov.in.army.aboutcase.nl/publications.html,” which try to trick users into thinking they are authentic ministry of defence (MoD) websites.
The phishing scam involves sending fake e-mails to government officials, containing an attachment titled “Hackers Targeted Defence Personnel in Mass Cyber Attack.”
When users enter their NIC-provided login credentials on these fraudulent websites, they are redirected to a “login-error.html” page.
“Both the phishing URLs have mirrored the original MoD website (www.mod.gov.in) to lure end users into believing they are legitimate MoD websites,” an advisory issued by the National Informatics Centre said.
“The two links are “mimicking” the ministry of defence and the phishing campaign is primarily aimed at harvesting the NIC credentials of government officials to steal sensitive documents pertaining to the Indian government,” it added.
The NIC has instructed government employees to immediately delete any suspicious e-mails. If they have already clicked on the malicious links, they should disconnect their computer from the Internet, update their passwords, and ensure their operating system is up to date.
Officials have also been warned to be wary of links shortened using techniques like Bit.Ly and disregard e-mails from untrustworthy sources, particularly those containing spelling or grammatical mistakes.
“Be cautious of links shortened by using Bit.Ly or other link-shortening techniques,” the advisory said.
In June-July, a similar phishing attempt was identified, which imitated the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
The National Informatics Centre (NIC) have identified two harmful URLs, “mod.gov.in.aboutcase.nl/publications.html” and “mod.gov.in.army.aboutcase.nl/publications.html,” which try to trick users into thinking they are authentic ministry of defence (MoD) websites.
The phishing scam involves sending fake e-mails to government officials, containing an attachment titled “Hackers Targeted Defence Personnel in Mass Cyber Attack.”
When users enter their NIC-provided login credentials on these fraudulent websites, they are redirected to a “login-error.html” page.
“Both the phishing URLs have mirrored the original MoD website (www.mod.gov.in) to lure end users into believing they are legitimate MoD websites,” an advisory issued by the National Informatics Centre said.
“The two links are “mimicking” the ministry of defence and the phishing campaign is primarily aimed at harvesting the NIC credentials of government officials to steal sensitive documents pertaining to the Indian government,” it added.
The NIC has instructed government employees to immediately delete any suspicious e-mails. If they have already clicked on the malicious links, they should disconnect their computer from the Internet, update their passwords, and ensure their operating system is up to date.
Officials have also been warned to be wary of links shortened using techniques like Bit.Ly and disregard e-mails from untrustworthy sources, particularly those containing spelling or grammatical mistakes.
“Be cautious of links shortened by using Bit.Ly or other link-shortening techniques,” the advisory said.
In June-July, a similar phishing attempt was identified, which imitated the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Source Agencies
