CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has gone offline since the past three days after a suspected cyber attack. A private error is popping up saying attackers might be trying to steal your information from www.tnpcb.gov.in, if one tries to access the website. TNPCB website serves as a key public interface on important matters. Information on real-time monitoring of ambient air quality surrounding industrial premises, tracking industrial emissions such as thermal power plants that would have direct bearing on Chennai air quality and water pollution monitoring, was available.
Care Air Centre (Centre for Assessing Real time Air Quality) monitors all industrial emissions in Tamil Nadu on a real time basis to analyse the trend of emissions into the atmosphere. Apart from emission monitoring, ambient air monitoring around industrial premises and effluent parameters are also monitored.
Totally, 48 government websites were hacked between January and October this year, as per Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad informed Lok Sabha on December 4. Totally, 199, 172 and 110 central and state government websites were hacked in 2016, 2017 and 2018 respectively. He did not specify if 529 separate websites had been hacked, or if the same websites had been hacked more than once. TNPCB member-secretary D Sekar told Express, “There is issue with NIC Chennai server. Our team is working to rectify defects in coordination with NIC officials.”