Data breach at ICAR hits key recruitment, agricultural research projects: Report
New Delhi: The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) suffered a major data breach earlier this year that led to the loss of “crucial data” related to recruitment and key research initiatives, The Indian Express reported on Friday.
The breach reportedly occurred in April and affected affected ICAR’s website, it server in Delhi, along with its replication server at the National Academy of Agricultural Research Management (NAARM) in Hyderabad.
The affected data reportedly includes records related to recruitment processes—from Technical Officers to Deputy Director Generals—as well as projects and related information submitted by scientists and preserved in repositories.
In response to the breach, ICAR constituted a six-member committee earlier this month to assess the extent of the damage and recommend steps to prevent such incidents in the future. The panel has been tasked with submitting its report by July 31. It has also been asked to submit recommendations regarding the "non-functionality" of the Data Centre (DC) and Disaster Recovery Centre (DRC), as per documents that The Indian Express said it had reviewed.
“A few months back, there was some hacking of our website. Presently, everything is normal. The Ministry has constituted a committee in a follow-up of our data policy. That is a continuous process,” TIE quoted M.L. Jat, Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education, and Director General of ICAR, as saying.
However, a senior scientist quoted in the report highlighted that their email communication system is not functioning, and crucial data related to recruitment, finances, scientists, research projects, and administrative work has vanished from both the main server and the replication server.
Several ICAR scientists from Lucknow, Karnal, Hyderabad, Pune, and Delhi stated that there were persistent 'problems on the portal' and that they had raised the issue multiple times, added the report.
A senior official from Council’s Knowledge Management division also confirmed that while the main website (icar.org.in) was restored in mid-May, another website (icar.gov.in) remains inaccessible.
The data breach primarily impacted three critical institutions under ICAR: Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board (ASRB), Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute (IASRI), and NAARM, according to the sources quoted by the newspaper.
The security breach was reportedly brought up during the Annual General Meeting of the ICAR Society, held in Delhi on July 7 and chaired by Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Following this, Chouhan directed the formation of a six-member committee, to be headed by Dr. D.K. Yadava, DDG (Crop Sciences), ICAR.
One member of the probe committee reportedly stated that they are yet to convene a meeting due to prior commitments but plan to do so soon.
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Congress misleading public on National Herald case, matter still in court: BJP
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Wednesday accused the Congress of running misleading propaganda over the trial court's decision in the National Herald case and said the court refused to take cognisance of the complaint but did not set aside the case.
The case is still pending trial in the Delhi High Court, and the trial court in its order on Tuesday said that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) can continue its investigation, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia asserted.
"The court yesterday (Tuesday) said that since it is a private complaint and no FIR has been lodged, it will not take cognizance of it. It's a technical matter. The court also said that ED can continue its investigation further. The court did not set it aside," Bhatia told a press conference at the BJP headquarters here
"Its trial is still going on. Sonia Gandhi is still Accused Number-1 and Rahul Gandhi Accused Number-2," the BJP spokesperson said, alleging, "The Gandhi family thrives on deceit, deception, and propaganda."
