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A major cyberattack has targeted West Bengal’s government data infrastructure, disrupting the websites of several state departments and raising concerns that sensitive government records may have been stolen or destroyed.
According to sources cited by Anandabazar.com, the West Bengal State Data Centre came under attack for five consecutive days from September 9 to 13. Officials reportedly detected the breach only before noon on September 13.
Several government websites have experienced problems since the attack, including those of the Public Works, Housing, Municipal Affairs and Urban Development departments and the state police. Citizen services, including birth and death registration, have also been disrupted.
A preliminary investigation found that attackers had allegedly run malware scripts on the data centre’s servers for several days. Forensic investigators suspect that large volumes of data from at least four government departments, including the Finance Department, may have been stolen.
The potentially compromised information includes records related to projects of the previous government, birth and death registrations, micro, small and medium enterprises, and government financial transactions. Investigators have so far been unable to recover any stolen data or documents.
However, investigators said the Finance Department’s internal system itself was not compromised. Authorities are also examining whether records related to current government projects, including the Annapurna Yojana, remain secure.
Based on the nature of the attack, investigators suspect that a professional cybercrime group may have been behind it and that the attack may have been carried out for a specific purpose. However, the identities or motives of the attackers have not yet been established.
The incident has also raised questions about the effectiveness of West Bengal’s cybersecurity measures, particularly why the breach went undetected for several days. The state government has yet to issue a detailed official statement on the attack.
