December 2008 was the hackers’ month

Last December was one of the bloodiest months for cyber attacks and website defacements directed at India. Three hundred Indian siteswere defaced in December 2008, according to a ministry of information technology report.
On the security intrusion front, India’s cyberspace witnessed 255 incidents that month. Nearly half the incidents involved planting of spyware in compromised systems and websites.
Those behind the incidents, according to senior government officials, were groups of hackers sympathetic to nations with an anti-India agenda.
"In December, 53% security incidents reported were related to spreading malware through website compromise, 11 % related to viruses/worms under malicious code category and 12 % were phishing incidents," a senior ministry official told.
To check the extent of cyber penetration and web-based attacks on Indian systems and websites, the ministry collates data on the number of cyber security incidents and website hacking on a monthly basis. To ensure that victims of the attacks come out in the open and report them, the ministry does not reveal their identity.
However, steps are initiated to help the victim apply security measures to prevent a repeat of such attacks.
"In December, 111 open proxy servers functioning in India were tracked. The internet service providers were alerted immediately, to shut down the open proxy servers," the official said.
The ministry is compiling data for cyber attacks on India in 2008. The report, expected mid-year, will help law enforcement agencies work out strategies in the cyber war.